The Northern hemisphere’s long winter months is characterised by short daylight hours, the cold and damp and very often heavy grey days that never seem to get going, is the time for seasonal colds and flu.
Perhaps you have already had several vaccinations including seasonal flu vaccine and of course the latest Covid booster. Understanding that these shots are not stopping the infection and transmission of any new variants of Covid, we have to ask what else is out there that could be of benefit in keeping us all healthy. The answer lies with Echinacea. This fabulous go-to herb is for just this time of year. Over the festive season I was reminded of just how effective and wonderful this herb is.
A personal recent story using Echinacea:
My 87-year-old mother came down with a flu virus suddenly one morning, she woke feeling achy and with a stonking headache, which as she said she so seldom gets. Immediately I reached for the Echinacea and gave her a dose. She informed me that her daughter-in-law and my brother were both unwell when leaving for a few days break. On hearing this, I then took a dose as a prophylactic to guard against catching this bug. When both my brother and wife returned neither were well. They had been trying to keep this bug at bay with the usual pharmaceutical products, but to no avail. They too were dosed with Echinacea. What were the results?
- Mum was up and about the next day with a little nasal discharge showing slight infection, as with a cold, but no longer ached or had a headache. She went on normally from that day on.
- My brother felt much better the next day but was still coughing.
- My sister-in-law seemed to be the worse off, however I think this is because she was particularly tired at the end of the year and overrode this to keep working and finish off before taking a break
- I caught a mild cold but with no signs of infection. My voice went hoarse for a day, but mental and physical energy remained in abundance.
As I am no longer with them, I recommended they continue to take Echinacea on reduced doses until all signs of infection have disappeared and they feel well. This will ensure the virus has completely left the body and will not re-infect once they stop taking it. To support the journey to getting well I also recommended a non-dairy diet to avoid mucus generation, drink plenty of fluids, and to take rest.
About Echinacea
There are three main species of Echinacea that are used medicinally. Commonly known as Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea (common or broad-leaved purple coneflower), E. angustifiolia (narrow leaved Purple Coneflower) and E. pallida (pale Purple Coneflower). E. purpurea is the one that is most commonly used, as it is easy to cultivate and the whole plant can be used – root, leaf, flower and seed).
The way to tell if you have a good quality Echinacea is the tingling sensation in the mouth after taking an oral dose, which in turn stimulates the flow of saliva. It is the phytochemicals, specifically alkylamides, mostly isobutylamides in Echinacea that are the cause for this tingling. Originally used by Native American tribes it was later adopted by a group of practitioners, known as the Eclectics (Eclectic physicians) in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Their careful documentation showed it was prescribed for a wide range of applications; snakebites, syphilis, typhus, septic wounds, dysentery, diphtheria and scarlet fever to name a few. (Ellingwood and American Dictionary)
Echinacea is most commonly known for its immune-stimulating actions, mainly acting on innate immunity, and therefore may modulate immune function in allergy and autoimmunity. It enhances resistance to infections, particularly of the upper respiratory tract, and is also anti-inflammatory. Echinacea is an antibacterial and antiviral herb, hence the reason why it is beneficial and to my mind revolutionary for fighting off colds and flu when used as a prophylactic, and as treatment when you are suffering cold and flu symptoms.
How does it work for treatment of colds and flu?
As an immune-stimulatory herb it activates and modulates the overall system. It helps maintain the body’s resistance by supporting immune function. The benefit of this is that the body is able to fight the symptoms of cold, flu and upper respiratory tract infections better. We tend to think of colds and flu as being related only to the winter months, but they can also appear sometimes in warmer months and Echinacea is the perfect remedy as it is effective taken at any time of the year.
Recent in-vivo studies conducted in the winter of 2021-2022 for five months indicate that Echinacea purpurea extract:
• reduces SARS-CoV-2 risk by 63%
• reduces overall viral load by approx. 99%
The study was randomised, no-treatment controlled study of 120 patients, aged 18-75 who were given a daily supplementation with the fresh herb extract of E. purpurea. The group was divided into verum and no treatment groups. Treatment for the verum group was 2 Echinacea tablets 3 x daily for two months, 2 months and 1 month with a week’s break in between. Subjects were tested regularly with acute illness for virus detection. In the event of acute infection 2 tablets were given 5 x daily.
No subjects were vaccinated against Covid-19 at the start of the study, and only 12 were vaccinated by the end of the study (7 in the Echinacea group and 5 in the control group).
Summary results of the study show:
- Risk of any coronavirus infection reduced by 48%
- Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection reduced by 63%
- Overall viral load reduced by 99%
- Viral clearance time reduced by 4.8 days
- Verum group were virus-free 8 days earlier than control group, in cases of infection
- Number of fever days was 1 in verum group, compared to 11 in the control group.
- 3% of the control group were hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection. None of the verum group were hospitalised.
Kolev E et al. Front. Pharmacol., 2022; 13: 1663 – 9812, 2 Signer J et al. Virol J 2020; 17: 136, 3 Declerck K et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021; 21 (1): 141 4 Nicolussi S et al. Microorganisms 2022; 10: 211
Echinacea is a relatively safe herb for both oral and topical use when not exceeding the recommended dosage. As commented by Professor S. Johnston, Respiratory Medicine & Allergy at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, “Taking Echinacea appears to be safe and it does seem to prevent viral illnesses, so the overall risk-benefit balance appears positive”.
Always keep in mind that Echinacea, as with pharmaceutical remedies that it is important to let your body rest, get into your pyjamas and hunker down to get adequate sleep to allow the healing to take place. Drink plenty of room temperature water and hot herbal teas, lemon and ginger tea with honey is especially good when feeling you are unwell.
As Professor Johnston said, this “herb is a relatively safe herb” and despite many reputed contraindications in the literature, the herb is unlikely to cause adverse effects. However, care should be exercised when taking any preparation of Echinacea (including the root) to those with known allergy to members of the Compositae (Asteraceae, daisy) family. If pregnant or breastfeeding and if on any medications, always consult a herbalist for any contraindications before taking.
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