Home > Herb File > October: Echinacea

 

Echinacea is possibly one of the best-known medicinal plants in the UK. From its humble origins in Eastern and mid-North America, this plant with its beautiful purple flowers has travelled and become an important part of all herbal dispensaries.

 

The story goes that the American Indians observed that echinacea was effective against the bite of a rattlesnake, and that it is was eaten by elk that were sick or wounded. It was widely used by the American Indians and was adopted by the settlers. By the 1930s it had become a popular remedy in European herbal medicine.

 

 

There are nine species of echinacea, three of which are used medicinally -  Echinacea angustifolia. Echinacea pallida and Echinacea purpurea. Commonly known as ‘coneflower’, the plant is a well-known garden species in the UK, but what many people don’t know is that it is also one of our most valuable herbal medicines.

 

Like many plant drugs, the medicinal actions of echinacea can’t be attributed to one specific constituent, but rather to the complex interactions between all the ingredients. Echinacea contains volatile oils and phenols including echinacoside, acetylenes and resin. Traditionally it is the root that is used medicinally, the dried rhizome having an astringent bitter taste that leaves the tongue tingling. 

 

 

The popularity of echinacea has meant that it is one plant that has undergone a number of clinical trials. Echinacea has been shown to protect against a number of viruses and to improve the outcome when used to treat colds and flu. In 2007 a meta-analysis of 14 different clinical trials was published in The Lancet and it concluded that echinacea reduced both the length and incident of the common cold. So how does it work? Echinacea increases the number of white blood cells, which in turn improves the body’s ability to detect and deal with viruses and bacterial infections.

 

Herbal practitioners consider echinacea to have a modulating effect on the immune system, making it especially helpful during acute stages of infection. Further studies have shown that echinacea shows broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory actions, which explains why it is so often used in the management of colds and flu.

 

 

I use echinacea to treat all types of infection, especially where there is a bacterial or fungal element, for example in upper respiratory infections, where there is a possible bacterial infection. I have prescribed it for patients with sinus infections, catarrh, inner ear infections and bronchitis as well as to help boost immunity. 

 

As well as a treatment I also use echinacea as a preventive. For example when there are colds or a winter flu bug doing the rounds, I recommend patients and their families take it regularly as it does seem to help reduce susceptibility to infection. 

 

Dee Atkinson MCPP, Medical Herbalist, Napiers the Herbalists