Find Out More About The Medicinal Herb Echinacea
Other Common Names: Black Sampson, Black Sampson Coneflower,
Blacksamson, Blacksamson Echinacea, Coneflower, Narrow-leaved, E
Angustifolia, Var Angustifolia, Echinacea Angustifolia, Black Sampson,
Kansas Snakeroot, Kansas Snakeroot, Narrowleaf Coneflower, Narrowleaved
Coneflower, Narrowleaved Purple Coneflower, Purple
Coneflower, Roter Sonnenhut, Rudbeckia, Rudbeckie Rouge, Snakeroot,
Kansas, Zonnehoed, Echinacea angustifolia
Range: N. America - Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota south to Texas; France; Germany; Netherlands; Turkey
Habitat: Dry prairies and barrens.
Echinacea are herbaceous perennials of the daisy family. Echinacea
may have either simple or branched stems. The flowers are large and
daisy-like and are sometimes known as coneflowers because of the raised
capitulum containing disc florets to which are attached ray florets. It
has a faint aromatic smell, with a sweetish taste, leaving a tingling
sensation in the mouth not unlike Aconitum napellus, but without its
lasting numbing effect. Of the nine Echinacea species, E. angustifolia,
E. purpurea, and E. pallida are the most commonly used. All are used to
boost the immune system and fight infections, but only the purpurea and
pallida varieties have been definitively proven effective. In general,
the medicinal effects of the leaves are better documented than the
effects of the roots.
Echinacea is one of the world's most important medicinal herbs.
Echinacea is an extremely popular herbal supplement; sales are nearly
$300 million a year according to the last figures available.
The genus Echinacea is native to the North American prairies. Nearly
all parts of the plant are used for therapeutic preparations including
the root, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Echinacea products may be derived
from cultivated or wild stocks. Echinacea was widely used by the Plains
Indians of North America for a variety of purposes including treatment
of snake bite and relief of fever. From 1887, the plant was
incorporated into a variety of patent medicines and by the 1920s
echinacea was the largest selling patent medicine in North America.
Plants in this genus were probably the most frequently used of all
North American Indian herbal remedies. They had a very wide range of
applications and many of these uses have been confirmed by modern
science. The plant has a general stimulatory effect on the immune
system and is widely used in modern herbal treatments.
Echinacea was included in the National Formulary of the United
States from 1916 to 1950; however, after years of debate over its
effectiveness, use declined in the 1930s. As interest in echinacea
waned in North America it increased in Europe. A German firm (Madaus)
imported E. purpurea seeds from the US and this species is the subject
of almost all research on the genus conducted in Europe over the last
fifty years. Today, more than 280 echinacea-containing products are
manufactured in Germany alone.
Research shows that it has the ability to raise the body's
resistance to bacterial and viral infections by stimulating the immune
system. It is also antibiotic and helps to relieve allergies. Echinacea
is regarded as effective in treating certain viral and bacterial
infections as well as wounds and inflammation, while stimulating the
immune system. Its ability to potentiate the immune system and to
reduce inflammation provide the basis for many of its suggested uses
including treatment of colds, coughs, flu, other upper respiratory
infections, enlarged lymph glands, sore throat, urinary tract
infections, herpes and candida, wounds, skin infections, eczema and
psoriasis (Herb Research Foundation (1997) Herb Information Greenpaper.
Echinacea).
There has been some doubt over the ability of the body to absorb the
medicinally active ingredients orally (intravenous injections being
considered the only effective way to administer the plant), but recent
research has demonstrated significant absorption from orally
administered applications. In Germany over 200 pharmaceutical
preparations are made from Echinacea. The roots and the whole plant are
considered particularly beneficial in the treatment of sores, wounds,
burns etc, possessing cortisone-like and antibacterial activity. The
plant was used by North American Indians as a universal application to
treat the bites and stings of all types of insects. An infusion of the
plant was also used to treat snakebites.
The root is adaptogen, alterative, antiseptic, depurative,
digestive, sialagogue. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for
later use. The plant has been used as a diaphoretic.
The root and/or herb may be brewed as a tea.
No epidemiological studies or case reports investigating the
association of exposure to echinacea and cancer risks in humans were
identified in the available literature.
There have been no reports of serious adverse effects associated
with the administration of echinacea. Occasionally the injection of
echinacea extracts has resulted in a feverish reaction. Skin rashes and
insomnia have also been reported. Due to cross hyper-sensitivity,
echinacea should not be taken by persons allergic to flowers of the
daisy family. Echinacea is contraindicated in individuals with
autoimmune illnesses and other progressive systemic diseases such as
tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, and HIV infection and AIDS related
illnesses.
- Brown, D.J. (1996) Phytotherapy: Herbal medicine
meets clinical science. NARD J., 118, 41-52
Other Common Names: Black Sampson, Black Sampson Coneflower,
Blacksamson, Blacksamson Echinacea, Coneflower, Narrow-leaved, E
Angustifolia, Var Angustifolia, Echinacea Angustifolia, Black Sampson,
Kansas Snakeroot, Kansas Snakeroot, Narrowleaf Coneflower, Narrowleaved
Coneflower, Narrowleaved Purple Coneflower, Purple
Coneflower, Roter Sonnenhut, Rudbeckia, Rudbeckie Rouge, Snakeroot,
Kansas, Zonnehoed, Echinacea angustifolia
Range: N. America - Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota south to Texas; France; Germany; Netherlands; Turkey
Habitat: Dry prairies and barrens.
Echinacea are herbaceous perennials of the daisy family. Echinacea
may have either simple or branched stems. The flowers are large and
daisy-like and are sometimes known as coneflowers because of the raised
capitulum containing disc florets to which are attached ray florets. It
has a faint aromatic smell, with a sweetish taste, leaving a tingling
sensation in the mouth not unlike Aconitum napellus, but without its
lasting numbing effect. Of the nine Echinacea species, E. angustifolia,
E. purpurea, and E. pallida are the most commonly used. All are used to
boost the immune system and fight infections, but only the purpurea and
pallida varieties have been definitively proven effective. In general,
the medicinal effects of the leaves are better documented than the
effects of the roots.
Echinacea is one of the world's most important medicinal herbs.
Echinacea is an extremely popular herbal supplement; sales are nearly
$300 million a year according to the last figures available.
The genus Echinacea is native to the North American prairies. Nearly
all parts of the plant are used for therapeutic preparations including
the root, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Echinacea products may be derived
from cultivated or wild stocks. Echinacea was widely used by the Plains
Indians of North America for a variety of purposes including treatment
of snake bite and relief of fever. From 1887, the plant was
incorporated into a variety of patent medicines and by the 1920s
echinacea was the largest selling patent medicine in North America.
Plants in this genus were probably the most frequently used of all
North American Indian herbal remedies. They had a very wide range of
applications and many of these uses have been confirmed by modern
science. The plant has a general stimulatory effect on the immune
system and is widely used in modern herbal treatments.
Echinacea was included in the National Formulary of the United
States from 1916 to 1950; however, after years of debate over its
effectiveness, use declined in the 1930s. As interest in echinacea
waned in North America it increased in Europe. A German firm (Madaus)
imported E. purpurea seeds from the US and this species is the subject
of almost all research on the genus conducted in Europe over the last
fifty years. Today, more than 280 echinacea-containing products are
manufactured in Germany alone.
Research shows that it has the ability to raise the body's
resistance to bacterial and viral infections by stimulating the immune
system. It is also antibiotic and helps to relieve allergies. Echinacea
is regarded as effective in treating certain viral and bacterial
infections as well as wounds and inflammation, while stimulating the
immune system. Its ability to potentiate the immune system and to
reduce inflammation provide the basis for many of its suggested uses
including treatment of colds, coughs, flu, other upper respiratory
infections, enlarged lymph glands, sore throat, urinary tract
infections, herpes and candida, wounds, skin infections, eczema and
psoriasis (Herb Research Foundation (1997) Herb Information Greenpaper.
Echinacea).
There has been some doubt over the ability of the body to absorb the
medicinally active ingredients orally (intravenous injections being
considered the only effective way to administer the plant), but recent
research has demonstrated significant absorption from orally
administered applications. In Germany over 200 pharmaceutical
preparations are made from Echinacea. The roots and the whole plant are
considered particularly beneficial in the treatment of sores, wounds,
burns etc, possessing cortisone-like and antibacterial activity. The
plant was used by North American Indians as a universal application to
treat the bites and stings of all types of insects. An infusion of the
plant was also used to treat snakebites.
The root is adaptogen, alterative, antiseptic, depurative,
digestive, sialagogue. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for
later use. The plant has been used as a diaphoretic.
The root and/or herb may be brewed as a tea.
No epidemiological studies or case reports investigating the
association of exposure to echinacea and cancer risks in humans were
identified in the available literature.
There have been no reports of serious adverse effects associated
with the administration of echinacea. Occasionally the injection of
echinacea extracts has resulted in a feverish reaction. Skin rashes and
insomnia have also been reported. Due to cross hyper-sensitivity,
echinacea should not be taken by persons allergic to flowers of the
daisy family. Echinacea is contraindicated in individuals with
autoimmune illnesses and other progressive systemic diseases such as
tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, and HIV infection and AIDS related
illnesses.
- Brown, D.J. (1996) Phytotherapy: Herbal medicine
meets clinical science. NARD J., 118, 41-52
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