TCM - Ma Huang

[Guest guest]

One can still get raw ma huang in New York City, either unprocessed or

honey-fried. As I remember, we had both at our school clinic at PCOM, and you

can

get it as a raw herb or granules in Chinatown. I have found myself writing a

few granule prescriptions for Ding Chuan Tang, containing ma huang, this

winter, as there seems to be a particularly nasty bronchial-type flu going

around.

It's such a great formula - it would really be a shame if ma huang were to

become unavailable.

 

I don't know why NY seems to be a little more lenient than other parts of the

US. I have wondered if it is because of the large Asian population in NYC

that is well-established. But our legislature here also enacted an ephedra

ban, but exempted Chinese medicines, and that seemed to be the end of the story,

at least for now.

 

As for cooking, I remember one professor suggesting pre-cooking the ma huang

until a foam collected on the top of the decoction, and then skimming the foam

off before adding other herbs. for my patients, I've been prescribing

granules, so not dealing with the cooking instructions.

 

--roseanne

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

In Australia it is now a scheduled substance so we are not supposed to

use it. You can still obtain raw ma huang as far as I know. I think

that there is a movement afoot to be allowed to prescribe it in

combination with other herbs. Especially in the state of Victoria as

pracitioners are government registered here. Actually, Im not up to

date on it and should look in to it. They went and scheduled alot of

things that may have even a hint of ephedrine in it, such as She Gan

and Tussilago spp. (Shame that the former grows quite well in the

tropics here, my mum used to grow it when I was a kid) and the latter

grows wild by the side of the road in the southern states.