Lianhua Qingwen Capsules contain Ephedra. Are they safe to use?

    The use of Ephedra in Lianhua Qingwen Capsules is based on the medication experience of Maxing Shigan Decoction, a famous prescription by Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage in Han Dynasty. Ephedra in the prescription is processed with honey, which alleviates its medicinal strengths and enhances its effects of diffusing the lung, relieving cough and asthma.

The net weight of ephedrine hydrochloride and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride in each Lianhua Qingwen capsule is less than 0.5 mg. Among them, the ratio of ephedrine to pseudoephedrine is about 3: 1, that is, ephedrine is about 0.075-0.3 mg per capsule, and pseudoephedrine is about 0.025-0.1 mg per capsule. Therefore, the ephedrine content in Lianhua Qingwen is very low, which is not enough to cause side effects such as elevated blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

   According to the monitoring data of adverse reactions in the past 10 years, the incidence of adverse reactions of Lianhua Qingwen is 1/100,000, only one out of every 100,000 patients taking Lianhua Qingwen Capsules has experienced adverse reactions, which are mainly manifested as nausea, diarrhea, rash or itching.

Therefore, it is very safe to take Lianhua Qingwen.