Question by Goobery: what is the difference between Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine?
Yes…. I understand they are both pretty much the same drug but what makes them different though?
thats pretty much the question.
and no… im not a drug dealer cooking meth. just always been interested in chemestry
Best answer:
Answer by heyimjason
Hmm.. ephedrine does more as far as raising your metabolism, opening your bronchial tubes, as well as raising your body temperature slightly, and over all giving you the “sped up” effect.
Psuedo may have some of those effects, but is actually more effective as a decongestant than actual ephedrine is.
There’s a slightly different chemical makeup. I’m sure there are diagrams of both chemical makeups that you could probably easily find online.
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The difference is in the orientation of the hydroxyl (-OH) group on its carbon atom. Here’s some pictures (I haven’t read the articles, I just know how to read a perspective drawing). In ephedrine, it’s depicted as coming out of the page. In pseudoephedrine, it’s depicted as going into the page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedrine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine
It’s a very tiny difference, but your body can often recognize that difference. Think of it as the difference between your left and right hand. They are essentially the same structure, they’re just oriented differently. If you try to put a right hand glove on your left hand it doesn’t fit very well. It’s the same thing with biological molecules. If you want to learn more, google chirality.
As for making meth, either drug is suitable. Meth is made by removing the hydroxyl group (a reduction) so it really doesn’t matter what its orientation is.
ephedrine hcl is the real thing and pseudo means fake or false