Abstract
Ephedrine is an alkaloid derived from various plants in the genus Ephedra (family Ephedraceae). The alkaloid is comparable in actions to adrenaline. It has many medicinal and pharmaceutical applications; it is a bronchodilator to relieve shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, and cough associated with bronchial asthma. Amino acids such as phenylalanine and tyrosine serve as the precursors for a large number of alkaloids, including ephedrine, capsaicin, and colchicines. Although ephedrine is produced by chemical synthesis or enzymatic methods, it is also obtained from Ephedra species. This chapter provides general information about Ephedra, ephedrine, and its derivatives, discusses methods to analyze them, and finally presents achievements in this area of science.
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Abbreviations
- 2 4-D:
-
2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
- BA:
-
Benzyl adenine
- BAP:
-
6-Benzylamino purine
- IAA:
-
Indole-3-acetic acid
- IBA:
-
Indole-3-butyric acid
- Kin:
-
Kinetin
- MS:
-
Murashige and Skoog’s medium
- NAA:
-
1-naphthaleneacetic
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Parsaeimehr, A., Sargsyan, E. (2013). Ephedra Alkaloids-Alkaloids Derived by Amination Reaction: Phenylalanine Derived. In: Ramawat, K., Mérillon, JM. (eds) Natural Products. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22144-6_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22144-6_29
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