Prehistoric plants “Ephedra is a powerful plant that can act as a strong stimulant as well as having medicinal properties,” says archaeologist Karen Hardy of the U.K.’s University of Glasgow ...

Ephedra and extracts of the plant became popular as recreational stimulants and sports-enhancing agents in the late 1980s, and additionally as thermogenic diet aids in the 1990s.

Cooks can now produce about 17 pounds of meth from 1,000 pounds of dried ephedra plant, says Mansfield, equating to a street value in Afghanistan of over $50,000.

Medicinal plants have served as a cornerstone for the development of therapeutic agents. Research indicates that a significant portion of medications, particularly those targeting antimicrobial ...

Scientists have uncovered 15,000-year-old medicinal herbs, shedding light on Stone Age health practices that echo today’s herbal remedies.

Within the surrounding sediment the researchers were also able to tease out the fragments of the Ephedra plant, which showed signs of being burnt. Today, Ephedra is used for its medicinal properties.

WASHINGTON — The ephedra industry, disputing reports linking the herbal stimulant to the death of Baltimore Oriole pitcher Steve Bechler, insisted Thursday that its product is safe and, as proof ...

Like others of its kind, Ephedra plants don't have flowers and instead secrete droplets of pollen-laden liquid from their cones. Some species let the wind ferry drops between cones, ...

Ephedra plant. Univ. of Calif., Davis. The young athlete had a weight problem. A Feb. 20 USA Today story quotes the Broward Co., Fla., medical examiner as saying that the 249-pound baseball player ...

California's ephedra is much more primitive and has not likely changed since bees first populated this landscape. ... Plants can be very long-lived and are not damaged by any forms of wildlife.

The Food and Drug Administration (search) has announced a new rule that in 60 days will ban the manufacture and sale of ephedra (search), an herbal dietary supplement that has been sold as a ...