TimesOnline: Echinacea Really Does Cure a Cold

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Misty L. Trepke

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Echinacea Really Does Cure a Cold

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article1980481

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Fans of echinacea have long sworn that it can ward off the common

cold, a claim that has been dismissed this as a matter of faith. Now

scientists say that the herbal remedy really works, giving believers

the pleasure of watching the cynics swallow their words. An analysis

of the evidence has found that taking the remedy more than halves a

person's chances of catching a cold and shortens the length of a

cold by an average of 1.4 days.

 

The American team reviewed 14 studies and published their results in

Lancet Infectious Diseases. But some earlier studies failed to find

convincing evidence that echinacea worked, so the findings are

likely to be controversial.

 

Ron Cutler, of the School of Biosciences at the University of East

London, said: " Echinacea has traditionally been used for both

prevention and treatment of colds but recent studies suggest that it

may be more effective as a treatment.

 

" It may reduce the duration of illness and decrease the severity of

cough, headache, and nasal congestion. People with impaired immune

function may benefit from taking echinacea during the winter months

to prevent colds and flu, but healthy people do not require long-

term preventative use. "

 

Ronald Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at the University

of Cardiff, said that it was a significant step in the battle

against the common cold. He added: " Harnessing the power of our own

immune system to fight common infections with herbal medicines is

now given more validity with this interesting scientific evaluation

of past clinical trials. "

 

The research team, led by Craig Coleman of the School of Pharmacy at

the University of Connecticut, searched the medical literature for

studies on echinacea and found 14 previous reports that met their

criteria. When the results were pooled they found that taking

echinacea reduced the chances of catching a cold by 58 per cent.

 

It was more effective in natural circumstances, where colds were

caught in the normal way, than it was in trials in which volunteers

were innoculated directly with the common cold rhinovirus. " With

over 200 viruses capable of causing the common cold, echinacea could

have modest effects against rhinovirus but marked effects against

other viruses, " they say.

 

One trial combined echinacea with vitamin C, and that reduced colds

by 86 per cent. But as only one trial used this particular

combination, the authors could not be certain of the finding. The

combined trials also produced evidence that echinacea reduced the

duration of a cold by an average of 1.4 days. All the studies showed

a reduction, but the amount varied from more than three days to less

than one.

 

The authors caution that more work needs to be done on the safety of

echinacea, which was not covered in the review.

 

They concluded: " An analysis of the current evidence in the

literature suggests that echinacea has a benefit in decreasing the

incidence and duration of the common cold.

 

However, large-scale randomised prospective studies controlling for

variables such as species, quality of preparation and dose of

echinacea, method of cold induction, and objectivity of end points

evaluated are needed before echinacea for the prevention or

treatment of the common cold can become standard practice. "

 

Professor Cutler added: " Overall this study, although well

structured, only produces a small increase in our understanding. The

true benefits and, more importantly, how the agents work, remain

unclear. "

 

Flower power

 

— Echinacea is a collection of nine related plant species indigenous

to North America and is one of the most commonly used of herbal

supplements

 

— Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea purpurea

are most commonly used in such supplements, but how they work is

unclear

 

— All three species contain the same constituents in differing

concentrations. It is thought that three of these (alkamides,

chicoric acid, polysaccharides) may stimulate immune systems

 

— The review found more than 800 products containing echinacea

 

Source: Times database