re: The best Echinacea supplement

Claire — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:56:11 GMT

A Cochrane review - http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000530.html - was less enthusiastic about echinacea as a treatment for the common cold. Cochrane reviews are highly regarded in terms of reliability. Also, there are people who need to be cautious about the use of echinacea, prinicipally those with pollen allergies, esp. to ragweed, see here: http://www.aaaai.org/patients/advocate/2006/summer/herbal.asp :

"# Caution should be used with Echinacea for those who have sensitivity to ragweed since they are in the same family. The use of chamomile may cause similar allergic-type symptoms, especially in ragweed pollen sensitive persons.

# Echinacea can cause a worsening of seasonal allergies. If you have a sunflower seed and/or melon sensitivity, you may also react to Echinacea. You might use this supplement to fight off a cold and wind up with a worsening allergy-type reaction..."

re: The best Echinacea supplement

Darren Sassall ND — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:33:59 GMT

There are two styles of Echinacea products in the marketplace: those based on a watery extract or the juice of the tops (favoured in Germany and shown to be effective in respiratory tract infections*) and the more traditional products made from an alcoholic extract of either Echinacea angustifolia or Echinacea purpurea roots. The chemical contents of these two types of products are fundamentally different. It is the latter products, in other words those based on an alcoholic extract of the root of Echinacea, which are commonly used by naturopaths and herbalists in Australia. Hence the results of some trials have little relevance to the products being prescribed in clinics throughout Australia. Products made from Echinacea root are far less likely to cause allergic reactions because they do not contain pollen proteins.

There is also an important difference in the way herbalists and naturopaths use Echinacea. They typically prescribe it before infections as a preventative rather than after the infection has begun. This use of Echinacea root as a preventative is supported by clinical trials.

(*Echinacea juice preparation is the most popular form of Echinacea in Germany. This product has been subject to clinical trials which have shown benefits in respiratory tract infections. However, the product normally sold is stabilised by the addition of ethanol, whereas the product in one negative trial was stabilised in a syrup base. Echinacea tops, especially the flowers, contain potentially allergenic proteins. In the normal course of manufacturing this product these would be denatured (rendered inactive) by the addition of alcohol. The absence of this step in the manufacture could explain the higher incidence of rashes compared to what is normally observed for the product.)