Echinacia

One of the most popular herbs in America today is the Native American medicinal plant known as echinacea. The herb is named for the prickly scales in its large conical seed head, which resemble the spines of an angry hedgehog (echinos is Greek for hedgehog).

Echinacea was a traditional remedy of the Native American Indians in the Great Plains, where it grows wild. The Cheyenne, Comanche, and other tribes used it for many ailments, including toothaches, sore throats, tonsillitis, coughs, and blood and lymphatic diseases.

A lay doctor, H. C. F. Meyer, "re-discovered" Echinacea in the 1870s, and within 20 years it became the most popular herb of the era. Dr. Meyer was so confident in his claims that he offered to "allow himself to be bitten by several rattlesnakes to prove the truth of his claims. Meyer claimed to know of over 600 cases in which his remedy had not failed to cure rattlesnake bites." (Echinacea: Nature's Immune Enhancer, Stephen Foster, 1991)

Results of archeological digs indicate that Native Americans may have used echinacea for over 400 years to treat infections and wounds and as a general "cure-all." Echinacea has also been used throughout history to treat scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria. Although this herb was popular during the 18th and 19th centuries, its use began to decline in the United States after the introduction of antibiotics. Echinacea preparations became increasingly popular in Germany throughout the 20th century -- in fact, almost all of the scientific research on this herb has been conducted in this country.

Today, echinacea is primarily used to reduce the symptoms and duration of the common cold and flu and to alleviate the symptoms associated with them, such as sore throat (pharyngitis), cough, and fever. Many herbalists also recommend echinacea to help boost the activity of the immune system and to help the body fight infections.

General Uses
Several laboratory and animal studies suggest that echinacea contains active substances that enhance the activity of the immune system, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. For this reason, professional herbalists may also recommend echinacea to treat urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast (candida) infections, ear infections (also known as otitits media), athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever (also called allergic rhinitis), as well as slow-healing wounds.

Echinacea works with the body's own defense mechanisms. According to a 1987 paper by Brian Weissbuch, L.Ac., it contains polysaccharides called Echinacins, which bind to cells and prevent pathogens from invading. By protecting cells and preventing their breakdown, it "counters the spread of pathogens and reduces inflammation."

Echinacin also improves immune function by "increasing the chemical recognition of an invading pathogen... the speed at which the immune cells migrate to the site of infection and destroy the invader is markedly increased." Weissbuch documents Echinacea's "enhancement of native interferon production," which blocks the "transcription of viral and cancer cell DNA, preventing further infection and malignancy."

Herbalist Jeanine Pollak, of Santa Cruz, California, explains this process in layman's terms: "The immune cells devour things that are bad for your body before they can develop and make you sick. I think of them as little Pac Mans gobbling up the bad guys."

Common cold
Two groups of researchers recently conducted a review of the scientific literature to determine whether echinacea is safe and effective in preventing or treating the common cold. Both groups of researchers identified 13 high-quality European studies including a variety of different echinacea preparations. Nine looked at the effectiveness of echinacea to treat the common cold and four examined whether echinacea helps prevent this familiar health problem.

Most studies found that echinacea (when taken at the first sign of a cold for 8 to 10 days) reduced cold symptoms or shortened their duration. For example, in a study of 95 people with early symptoms of cold and flu (such as runny nose, scratchy throat, and fever), those who drank 5 to 6 cups of echinacea tea every day for 5 days felt better sooner than those who drank tea without echinacea. Other studies have found that echinacea reduces cold symptoms by roughly 34 percent.

Traditionally, Echinacea was used to help heal insect bites, diphtheria, typhoid, blood poisoning, and other diseases such as tuberculosis that affect the body's immune system. The American Botanical Council states that "Echinacea may be of value for any infection, chronic or acute, but especially where there is not long-term immune deficiency or dysfunction." (Herbalgram #30 supplement, 1994)

Today we don't see much typhoid fever, but if you catch the beginning stages of a sore throat, a cold, the flu, or an upper respiratory infection, Echinacea can help to nip it in the bud.

Even if you don't start taking Echinacea at the first sign of illness, this herb can shorten the severity and duration of many common illnesses. Echinacea keeps infections from settling deeper into the body: for example, colds go up and out instead of into the lungs.

Precautions
The use of herbs is a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. Herbs, however, contain active substances that can trigger side effects and interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, herbs should be taken with care, under the supervision of a practitioner knowledgeable in the field of botanical medicine.

The American Herbal Products Association gives echinacea a class 1 safety rating, which indicates that it is safe when used appropriately (as instructed by the product label) and with the guidance of a healthcare professional. In Germany, use of echinacea is restricted to no longer than eight weeks at a time. This is because after eight consecutive weeks, echinacea losses its effectiveness and may even diminish immune function. Regular users of this herb, need "break" periods – namely, periods of time that they are not taking echinacea in order for it to maintain its ability to enhance immune function and fight infection.

Individuals with tuberculosis, leukemia, diabetes, connective tissue disorders, multiple sclerosis, HIV or AIDS, any autoimmune diseases, or, possibly, liver disorders should not take echinacea. There is some concern that echinacea may reduce the effectiveness of medications that suppress the immune system. For this reason, people receiving organ transplants (who must take immunosuppressant medications) should avoid this herb.

In rare cases, echinacea may cause allergic reactions ranging from a mild rash to anaphylaxis (a life threatening reaction accompanied by throat tightening, shortness of breath, and, possibly, fainting). People with asthma and allergies may be at an increased risk for developing these adverse reactions.

There has been one report of an individual developing erythema nodosum (a painful skin condition) after taking echinacea to treat the flu.

Despite concerns that echinacea may be unsafe for pregnant or breastfeeding women, new evidence suggests that the use of echinacea during pregnancy does not increase the risk of birth defects or other pregnancy-related health problems.

If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use echinacea without first talking to your healthcare provider:

Econazole
Echinacea may be useful in combination with econazole, an antifungal agent used to treat yeast infections (such as athlete's foot). When echinacea is used together with econazole, recurrence rates of these infections may be reduced.

Immunosuppressants
Immunosuppressants refers to a group of medications that are used for two main purposes -- treat cancer and suppress the immune system following organ transplant so that the new organ is not rejected. Because echinacea can enhance immune function, it is not advisable to use the herb with medications in this class, especially for organ transplant.

In terms of cancer treatment, however, a couple of test tube studies imply that echinacea may prove useful when used in conjunction with cyclophosphamide, one medication in this class. The idea is that using echinacea with this or other chemotherapy agents that act as immunosuppressants, may allow the cancer-fighting medicines to kill the tumors while the immune system continues to be protected. If this theory proves to be correct, then, echinacea could possibly prevent many of the untoward side effects of chemotherapy.

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