Echinacea Beats the Common Cold

We all know only too well, the inconvenience of catching a cold, the feelings of lethargy, the sneezing, coughing, mucous production and nasal passage blockage that a cold produces.

Unless you take appropriate precautions, every adult can expect to experience at least two bouts of the common cold each year. As most colds occur during the winter season it would be good advice to start thinking about ways of minimising the unpleasant symptoms of the inevitable cold that you are likely to catch. You may even be able to completely prevent one.

Echinacea is now well-known as a herbal therapy for treating symptoms of the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections. It shortens the duration of the common cold and reduces the severity of the symptoms. It can also help to prevent the common cold (and possibly other upper respiratory tract infections).

How Echinacea fights colds:

 Echinacea is a potent stimulant of the immune system. It stimulates the body to produce more infection-fighting compounds such as interferons and interleukins that combat the viruses that cause the common cold. It also stimulates the production of every type of white blood cell that destroys cold-causing viruses. These blood cells include macrophages (which engulf and destroy viruses), B-cells (which produce antibodies that help prevent re-infection from viruses), monocytes (which “tell” T-cells to destroy viruses), neutrophils (which release an enzyme named lysozyme that destroys viruses), natural killer cells, and T-cells (which directly attack viruses).

Scientific Evidence

A 1997 study found that Echinacea reduced the time required to recover from the common cold. This double-blind placebo-controlled study used the Echinacea pallida species of Echinacea and followed 160 adults with recent onset of cold-like illnesses. The results showed that treatment reduced the average period of illness from 13 days (these must have been severe colds to last so long!) to about 9.5 days, compared to placebo.

A 1989 double-blind study of 100 people with acute colds found that echinacea could significantly reduce cold symptoms. Half of the group received a combination herb product containing Echinacea angustifolia, the other half received a placebo compound. The participants rated the severity of symptoms of headache, lethargy, cough, and limb pain. In the echinacea group, symptoms were significantly less severe.

A 1997 double-blind study (involving 120 participants) found that Echinacea treatment shortened the duration of common cold infections and reduced the symptoms of the common cold. It also helped to prevent the onset of developing colds. Subjects received either Echinacea purpurea or a placebo as soon as they began to experience symptoms of a common cold. They received either echinacea or placebo at a dosage of 20 drops every 2 hours for 1 day, then 20 drops 3 times a day for 9 days. The results over the 10-day study period were promising. Fewer people in the echinacea group felt that their initial symptoms actually developed into "real" colds (40% of those taking echinacea versus 60% taking the placebo actually became ill). Among those subjects who did come down with "real" colds, improvement of symptoms started sooner in the echinacea group (4 days instead of 8 days).

In a study published in the year 2000, employees of a nursing home received echinacea tea (a combination of dried leaves, flowers and stems of Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia combined with dried Echinacea purpurea root) or a placebo tea. Subjects consumed five to six cups of tea on the first day of their symptoms and then decreased this dosage by one cup of tea per day. The study found that those employees who consumed echincacea tea at the onset of a cold experienced a reduction in the duration of their cold symptoms of approximately two days compared to those receiving a placebo compound.

Echinacea Helps other Respiratory Tract Infections Too!

Echinacea's stimulating effects on the immune system mean that it helps other infections too. There is evidence that it can help to prevent and treat influenza, sore throats, and sinusitis (when sinusitis is caused by bacteria or viruses). It inhibits a wide range of dangerous bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Echinacea Species and Formats

Three species of Echinacea are used therapeutically - Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea purpurea. There are a wide range of opinions about which species is best for treating or preventing the common cold. In scientific studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of Echinacea for the common cold, all three species have produced beneficial results. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about which particular species is in the product that you are using. Some products include more than one species. There is also debate about which part of the echinacea plant is more potent - most laboratory studies report that the root possesses the greatest immune-enhancing properties. However, other studies report superior effects from the aerial portions of echinacea.

In addition, as a further confounding factor, all three Echinacea species come in various formats, including liquid extracts, capsules, tablets and throat lozenges. No format has been demonstrated to be better than another, although some experts believe that the fresh-pressed juice of Echinacea purpurea may be the best preparation as it provides a greater range of active compounds and has more clinical studies.

The Take-Home Message

• The usual dosage of Echinacea for the treatment of the common cold is 9 - 12 ml (of Echinacea 1:5 tincture or juice) taken as three equally divided doses.
• Higher doses generally produce greater effects - for example, 3 - 5ml (of Echinacea tincture or juice) taken every two hours (= up to 80 ml per day). The recommended dosage of Echinacea capsules or tablets for the treatment of the common cold is 900 - 1,800 mg per day (taken as three equally divided doses).
• Some experts recommend against the use of echinacea on a continual basis, although others claim that long-term use can provide long-term benefit. If used long-term, it is best to take echinacea for no longer than eight weeks continually. This should be followed by a “rest” period (no echinacea use) of at least one week.