Therapeutic Uses
- Enhanced Immunity – Echinacea helps treat infection by revving up the immune system. White blood cells (macrophages) engulf and digest disease-causing microorganisms. Echinacea boosts their ability to destroy germs. The herb also energizes other important white blood cells, the natural killer cells and T lymphocytes. It also increases secretion of interleukin-1, another component of the immune system.
- Infections – Echinacea help combat a broad range of disease-causing viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. The herb contains echinacoside, a natural antibiotic with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. It also strengthens tissues against invading microorganisms. Many germs produce an enzyme to dissolve the skin’s hyaluronic acid shield. However, echinacea contain echinacein, which counteracts germs’ tissue-dissolving enzyme, thus keeping them out of the body. Lastly, echinacea mimics interferon, the body’s own virus-fighting compound.
- Colds and Flu – When used as a treatment for colds and flu versus a placebo, echinacea produced an average 50% reduction in the severity of symptoms and a similar reduction in the number of days that people actually felt ill.
- Wounds – Echinacein – the same compound that prevents germs from penetrating tissues – also helps broken skin knit faster by spurring the cells that form new tissue (fibroblasts) to work more efficiently. Echinacea preparations can be applied to cuts, burns, psoriasis, eczema, genital herpes sore, and cold sores.
- Yeast Infections – In one study, women with recurrent yeast infections were treated with either an anti-yeast cream, or an anti-yeast cream paired with oral echinacea. The group taking the echinacea had a recurrence rate of only 16%, versus the group who was treated with anti-yeast cream alone, which had a recurrence rate of 60%.
- Gastrointestinal Infections – One study analyzed volunteers’ stool samples for evidence of bacteria that cause food poisoning and other gastrointestinal infections. After taking 1,000 mg of echinacea for 10 days, subsequent stool analysis showed significantly fewer bacteria, enough of a decrease to reduce risk of GI infections.
- Cancer Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy – Chemotherapy and radiation treatments can depress white blood cell counts, which increases risk of infection. However, chemotherapy patients who were also treated with echinacea and an extract of the thymus gland (a component of the immune system) had increased white blood cell counts.
Medicinal Uses: * Candida/yeast * Colds * Ear * Immune * Insect/flea Bites * Sinus * Sore Throat
Echinacea Side Effects: Echinacea should be used with caution by people who are allergic to ragweed or to plants in the sunflower family. If you have an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, or a chronic infection such as HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis, you should not use Echinacea. People with diabetes and those who tend to get allergies should not get intravenous echinacea. If you are trying to get pregnant, it is probably best not to take echinacea.
Echinacea Drug Interactions: Echinacea should be used with caution by people who are taking anabolic steroids and corticosteroids; the chemotherapy drug methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), used in the treatment of cancer and lupus; astemizole (Hismanal), an antihistamine prescribed for allergies; nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia) and captopril (Capoten), used for high blood pressure; sildenafil (Viagra), prescribed for erectile dysfunction; and many others. Echinacea might cause these drugs to accumulate to levels at which they produce side effects.
