What is echinacea and is it safe

Echinacea has one of the best safety records of any herb, with no cases of toxicity or side effects reported over several hundred years of use. Allergic reactions have been reported, but are extremely rare and usually mild.

Echinacea was used by Native Americans as a long-term remedy for centuries. Based on echinacea鈥檚 historical uses, supported by more recent scientific information, it seems appropriate to use echinacea to prevent illness and to increase the dose to further support the immune system when necessary.

Studies

In 1999, a German experiment again demonstrated the positive effect of a combination formula containing echinacea. A total of 263 patients with an acute common cold participated in a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, multicenter study on the treatment of the common cold (acute viral respiratory tract infection). They took the herbal preparation three times a day for 7 to 9 days. Patients documented the daily intensity of 18 cold symptoms, as well as the cold overall, using a 10-point scale, and also estimated their general well-being. Those with at least moderate symptom intensity showed responses of 55.3% in the herbal remedy group, compared to only 27.3% in the placebo group. Those patients who started therapy at an early phase of their cold experienced the most prominent efficacy of the herbal remedy. According to this study, the herbal remedy is effective and safe and provides rapid onset of improvement of cold symptoms. If patients with colds are able to start the application of the herbal remedy as soon as practical after the occurrence of the initial symptoms, the benefit would be expected to increase, according to the researchers.