Echinacea Purpurea Root 100 g, 50 g, 25 g

Echinacea Purpurea Root – 100 g ($23.99), 50 g ($4.99), 25 g ($9.99)

Benefits:

Echinacea is used extensively to boost the immune system, treat colds and flu, fight infection, help speed wound healing, and reduce inflammation. Herbal medicine generally uses two species of echinacea, E. angustifolia and E. purpurea. Since each of the species has slightly different effects, specific disorders are usually best treated with one or the other.

Researchers have found that echinacea’s immune-stimulating properties are due to a host of polysaccharides and phytosterols. They help to activate macrophages that are directly involved in the destruction of bacteria, viruses, and other infectious agents. Echinacea also increases production of interferon, an important part of the body’s response to viral infections such as colds and flu. It has been specifically shown to activate an important class of white blood cells known as natural killer (NK) cells.

In folk medicine, Native Americans used this herb externally for burns, swelling of the lymph nodes, and insect bites. Internally, it was used for pain associated with headaches and stomachaches, measles, coughs, and gonorrhea. It was also used for rattlesnake bites. Today, the herb is used for prophylaxis and treatment of flu, sepsis, and mild to moderate cold infections. Externally, the herb is used for treatment of poorly healing wounds and inflammatory conditions such as abscesses and leg ulcers. There is no evidence that echinacea is useful for those who are at increased susceptibility to infection due to temporarily lowered resistance, treatment of leucopenia following radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. On the other hand, the German Commission E has approved the E. purpurea herb for use for the common cold, coughs and bronchitis, fever and colds, infections of the urinary tract, inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, infections, and wounds and burns.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and yeast infection. E. purpurea acts against Candida albicans, the microorganism that can cause yeast infections. In German studies, echinacea acted by stimulating the immune-system cells known as macrophages to engulf and consume yeast cells by 30 to 45 percent, but did not increase the numbers of immune cells overall. The advantage of keeping the number of macrophages constant is that it helps to avoid inflammatory reactions that can accompany infection. These studies were on animals and human studies do not exist. Echinacea could be useful for people with CFS because yeast infections may accompany symptoms of this disorder. E. purpurea has been shown to stimulate cellular immune function of immune cells in patients with CFS.

Colds, cough, influenza, and upper respiratory infections. Echinacea is one of the most studied herbs in humans; still there is quite a bit of conflicting data on whether it is effective at preventing colds or for shortening their duration once they appear. The major problem is that echinacea preparations differ widely from one clinical trial to another. There are more than 200 different preparations that use various species and parts of the plant (root, herb, or both), as well as many methods of extracting the active ingredient. Adding to the confusion is that some so-called echinacea-containing products contained no herb at all.

In 2006, a Cochrane Collaboration review was conducted that compared the effectiveness of echinacea with a placebo, no treatment, or another treatment. This is a system often used in medicine to compare different studies on the same thing, such as a particular herb or drug. Of the sixteen studies identified, most looked at whether echinacea was effective for preventing and treating a cold. Nine out of the sixteen studies showed that echinacea was beneficial for treating a cold, but not one showed echinacea to be effective at reducing the chances of catching a cold. Because of the lack of standardization of the herb, another comprehensive review of eleven studies found echinacea not to be beneficial for treating the common cold.

Even when a standardized echinacea was used in a well-controlled study, where 437 participants were given a cold virus, there was no difference from the placebo group in length of sickness, the amount of virus measured in the blood, volume of nasal secretions, or nasal-lavage specimen measurement of key immune-system cells. This study used E. angustifolia root.

Ear infection. E. angustifolia, especially when used with goldenseal, stops drainage and speeds healing. This combination of herbs increases the body’s production of immune globulins that attack both bacteria and viruses, such as those that commonly cause ear infection.

Herpes. Treatment with the plant and root extract of E. purpurea had no significant benefit in patients with recurrent genital herpes.

 

Recommendations for Use

Since E. angustifolia and E. purpurea are not completely interchangeable, you should try to use the species of echinacea suited to each specific condition. (The entries for specific disorders in Part Two designate appropriate species, forms, and dosages.) All forms of echinacea are extraordinarily nontoxic. Do not take echinacea for longer than three months. If used over the long term, E. purpurea can deplete the body’s stores of vitamin E.

Depending upon which form is used, there are different recommended daily doses. For the E. purpurea herb, the dose is 6 to 9 milliliters of the juice; for the E. purpurea root, it is 30 to 60 drops as a tincture, and for the E. pallid herb and root, a daily dose is 900 milligrams. For the E. angustifolia herb and root, there is no daily dose because of the lack of efficacy. For external use, at least a 15 percent pressed juice product is desirable.

Side effects of all forms are minimal and rare except when it is provided intravenously or used for longer than the recommended time. With intravenous use, side effects include headache, dizziness, nausea, constipation, skin redness, and some breathing difficulties in persons known to have other allergies.

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. This is especially important for persons with HIV/AIDS. In stimulating immune function, echinacea slightly increases the production of T cells, the immune cells attacked by HIV. When there are more T cells, the virus has both more cells to infect and more opportunities to mutate into a drug-resistant form. 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. Both of the most widely used echinacea species contain a substance that can interfere with the release of unfertilized eggs into the fallopian tube, so they may decrease a woman’s fertility. This has only been demonstrated in animals, however.

There are numerous drug interactions with echinacea that pose major and moderate risks. There is preliminary evidence that E. purpurea contains chemicals that deactivate CYP3A4, a liver enzyme that breaks down a wide range of medications. These medications could theoretically increase in the blood, causing an overdose state. The medications processed by this enzyme include 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 (ED); and many others. In general, E. purpurea seems to interact with the same medications that interact with grapefruit juice or quercetin.  While this possible effect of echinacea might help maintain levels of these drugs in the bloodstream and make them more effective, it might also cause them to accumulate to levels at which they produce side effects. If the expected side effects of any of these medications occur while taking echinacea, discontinue the herb.

Echinacea should be used with caution by people who are allergic to ragweed or to plants in the sunflower family. Claims that a combination of echinacea and goldenseal boosts the immune system have been borne out by laboratory experiments with animals that show that the two herbs augment different, but complementary, immune globulins. Before taking an echinacea-and-goldenseal combination, be sure to observe the precautions listed for goldenseal.

Echinacea should be avoided immediately before, during, and after organ transplantation if a drug such as cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) or tacrolimus (Prograf) is prescribed to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. Taking basiliximab (Simulect), an immunosuppressant, daclizumab (Zenapax), azathioprine (Imuran), and other drugs to prevent organ rejection with echinacea is not advised because the effectiveness of the drug will be reduced.

Botanical Name: Echinacea purpurea
Also, known as: Purple Coneflower, Black Sampson, Niggerhead, Rudbeckia, Cock Up Hat, Comb Flower, Indian comb, Indian Head, Kansas Snakeroot, Kansas Coneflower, Red Sunflower, Scurvy root, Snakeroot
Habitat: USA and Canada
Origin: Germany
Harvested: Cultivated

General Information:
The Echinacea is a group of plant species that belongs to the same family as dandelion, sunflower, and daisy. These flowering shrubs are best known as ornamental plants in gardens. Also, they widely recognized as medicinal herbs in alternative medicine. One of the most popular herbs in the United States marketplace is the native American medicinal plant Echinacea
The term refers to several plants in the genus Echinacea, derived from the above ground parts and roots of Echinacea angustifolia (Narrow-leafed Purple Coneflower), Echinacea pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower), and Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower).
Echinacea Angustifolia is an herbaceous perennial plant grows up to a height of twelve to twenty-eight inches. Linear lanceolate leaves are thick, rough, hairy, broadly landscaped, 2 to 8-inch-long, narrowed at the end and strongly three nerved, its flowers are like cone shaped disks that are pink and purple in color. The plant usually has one or more stems. The taproot that produces seeds is harvested three to four times a year 2 to 4 feet tall, with single, stout, bristly, hairy stems. The stems and leaves are moderately to densely hairy. The plant produces flower heads one per side: branch, each at the end of a long peduncle. Each head contains 8-21 pink or purple ray florets plus 200-300 purple disc florets
Almost all its parts are of medicinal value. But most importantly, it is the root of the Echinacea Angustifolia that has most of the beneficial medicinal properties. It can be easily found in the Rocky Mountains of North America and the midwestern states.
The various Echinacea species contain numerous chemical constituents. There is still no consensus on exactly which of these is the most active immunomodulator Some experts believe that the Echinacea augustifolia is the and others say Echinacea purpurea is the best. Echinacea pallida seems to be caught somewhere in the middle.

How to use:

Hot Infusion

The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup or teapot Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. Hot water is needed to draw out the antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, flavonoids, and volatile oils from the botanicals. Strain and squeeze out as much as liquid as possible and enjoy!

Tips:

• You can sweeten your herbal tea with a bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder and or licorice root powder.
• You can make ice cubes or pops by freezing tea in ice trays or pop molds

Precautions:

You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are

Pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

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