PS268 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16: Ephedra, Ephedrine, Shot Put
Document Summary
Smith and beecher 1959 concluded most athletes performed better under amphetamines, but the improvement was small. Amphetamine margin is a few percent under most circumstances but that makes a big difference. With amphetamines, improvements are seen in both events requiring brief, explosive power (shotput) and events requiring endurance (distance running) This endurance improvement could be due to masking of fatigue effects. 330mg of caffeine (3 cups of brewed coffee) increased length of stationary bike ride by almost 20% Small amounts of caffeine are acceptable in most sports but a urine level of 12+ micrograms/ml leads to disqualification, however there can be a slight improvement at legal levels. No controlled labs have tested performance enhancing capabilities of cocaine but is probably similar to those of amphetamines, though would not improve endurance over a several hour period as well. Ephedra (ma huang) is the herbal source of ephedrine, and it was the ephedrine molecule that was modified in 20s to produce amphetamine.
