The genus Ephedra of the Ephedraceae family contains more than 60 species of nonflowering
seed plants distributed throughout Asia, America, Europe, and North Africa. These
Ephedra species have medicinal, ecological, and economic value. This review aims
to summarize the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of the Ephedra
species to unveil opportunities for future research. Comprehensive information on
the Ephedra species was collected by electronic search (e.g., GoogleScholar, Pubmed,
SciFinder, and Web of Science) and phytochemical books. The chemical compounds isolated
from the Ephedra species include alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, polysaccharides,
and others. The in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies on the crude extracts,
fractions and few isolated compounds of Ephedra species showed anti-inflammatory,
anticancer, antibacterial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-obesity, antiviral,
and diuretic activities. After chemical and pharmacological profiling, current research
is focused on the antibacterial and antifungal effects of the phenolic acid compounds,
the immunosuppressive activity of the polysaccharides, and the antitumor activity
of flavonoids.