ShopAccording to a recent review, echinacea significantly reduces the risk of catching and shortens the duration of colds. Previous studies have disagreed as to whether echinacea prevents colds. In the July The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Coleman and colleagues reviewed over 700 previous studies… and carried out a statistical analysis combining the results of 14 randomized controlled trials. They concluded that echinacea reduced the risk of catching a cold by 58 percent and that it significantly shortened illness duration, although there was no general agreement on the scale of the latter effect. (New York Times, 2007)
How it works? Echinacea appears able to modulate the immune system through the cannabinoid receptor number 2 and the inflammatory pathways. This is still not definitively proven due to the myriad of preparations used in clinical trials and experimental models and the lack of data concerning their phytochemical composition. Of the different phytochemicals present in traditional, ethanolic root preparations of echinacea, alkylamides have been shown to be both bioavailable and bioactive and are able to ameliorate the effects of induced immune responses in different populations of immune cells. Further research is necessary to understand the full extent and nature of the influence of these key echinacea phytochemicals on the immune response. Such an understanding will better inform the clinical use of this popular herb.
The studies show that it can repress a cold by up to 1.4 days on average. Also the best way to consume or administer Echinacea root is by capsules or alcohol based extracts due to the fact that when heated the properties are denatured and the healing benefits are no longer potent.
- Baker, N. “Echinacea Helps Colds, Major Review Shows” New York Times 2007 Pg.F7
