Difference between ephedra and ephedrine?

Ok, well I must clear up this alkaloid business. I am a chemist who works in the supplement manufacturing business. I know some of the posts I am talking about were earlier in the thread, but here is the break down.

There are several different species of ephedra.

Ephedra sinica (Ma Huang) <-high alkaloid content in extracts

Sida Cordifolia <- less alkaloid content

Ephedra Nevadensis <- little to no alkaloid content

(Neither of the 3 is superior or inferior to the other as long as Ephedrine Alkaloids are present. Avoid Ephedra Nevadensis or Ephedra Extract products that have no ephedrine alkaloids. So in order to get 25mg of ephedrine alkaloids from Ephedra Sinica, 313mg Ephedra Extract of 8% concentration is needed [8% x 313mg = 25.04mg]. To get the same 25mg of ephedrine alkaloids from a lesser alkaloid content herb like Sida Cordifolia, 418mg at 6% concentration is needed [6% x 418mg = 25.08mg]. Using extraction methods, 8%+ alkaloids concentrations can be achieved with Sida Cordifolia and 10%+ with Ephedra Sinica. Comparing two pills with 25mg ephedrine alkaloids, one with Ma Huang 6% and the other with Sida Cordifolia 8%, the pill at 6% concentration will be larger. The higher the concentration, the smaller the pill will be. This means that the product with lower concentration will be in a slightly larger pill as more herb is required to yield the same amount of ephedrine alkaloids. Note also that Ephedra Sinica, Ma Huang or Sida Cordifolia could have varying concentration amounts and are dependent on the extraction process. So don’t go believing anyone telling you that Ma Huang is better than Sida Cordifolia or Ephedra. 25mg ephedrine alkaloids from Sida Cordifolia has the same strength as 25mg ephedrine alkaloids from Ma Huang or 25mg of the synthetic Ephedrine HCL).
REPLY

Thanks for clearing that up.  There is too much false information from people who all claim to be experts on ephedra.  Those are the morons that say it will kill you.  Then they change their minds and say it is good as long as you follow instructions.  Then after a few posts declare themselves ephedra gurus and tell everyone to stay away from the leaves.  Then claim that Ephedrine HCL is the best.  Then say that Bronkaid with caffeine pills work better LOL!  I like the Red Cutz ECA Stack.  The Mini Lean is not that bad either and works very well as it has 25mg Ephedrine Alkaloids.  A lot of new fake ephedra extract diets are popping up all over.  Those are basically ephedra free disguised as ephedra to mislead.  It is a new scam.  TWS and has them.

Now I know why I have been using ephedra without the success I had years ago.  Been reading the bottles of ephedra from netnutri, i-supplements, ephedrawarehouse, ephedraoutlet, paramount-supplements, i-supplements, bingproducts and others.  All fake!  Unbelievable what companies will do just to make a quick buck from unsuspecting customers.  Gives a bad name to the original formula ephedra with the active ingredient Ephedrine Alkaloids because new users will believe ephedra is ineffective.  Only real ephedra, ma huang and sida cordifolia from years ago had the active ingredient Ephedrine Alkaloids.  Without it listed on the ingrdients label, it is another ephedra free scam!

If you call the company selling the fakes and ask them if their products have ephedrine alkaloids, they will tell you that the ones with alkaloids are illegal.  No, ephedrine was never illegal and it has been approved by the FDA as a nasal decongestant and bronchodilator.  Well, if they claim that ephedrine is illegal then why are they trying to sell something that may be illegal?  So if it does not have ephedrine alkaloids then it should be ephedra free.  Why are they trying to sell an ephedra free product, overcharge for it and pass it as an ephedra product?  Ask them that and tell them to stop trying to rip people off.

Go for the original Stimerex-ES if you want the strongest ever.  Only place guaranteed to have the original preban from years ago is TWS.  Do a search on yahoo or msn for the word ephedra and you will see them ranked #3.  They even have the original Liopodrene, Lipodrene Lite, Blu Impact, SureTrim, Red Cutz, and several others which have been discontinued.  Only go for the original formulas with Ephedrine Alkaloids listed on the label.  The people writing posts talking bad about TWS are competitors selling fakes who are desperate to make a quick buck with caffeine loaded ephedra free products mislabeled as ephedra.  You can tell by the tone that it is the same person.