The What, Where, When, How and Why of Echinacea

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The What, Where, When, How and Why of Echinacea

By Stephanie Burgess

 

 

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Echinacea is an inhabitant of the plains regions of North America, where it has

been used for millennia by the Native Americans. It is said that they used it

for more purposes than any other plant group available to them. The root, leaves

and flowers were used for everything from common flu and colds, insect and snake

bites to treating cancer.

 

The early settlers learned of it's use from them and is known to have been

utilized at least as early as the 1850's by doctors, particularly in an

Herbal-based Medical School known as the " Eclectics " . This School of Medicine

finally closed it's doors in the 1930's, due to the growing power of the

Allopathic School of Medicine and the discovery of penicillin. Before it's

discovery, Echinacea was the most widely prescribed herb for all infections and

inflammatory conditions. It should be noted here that it has never lost it's

popularity in Europe.

 

There are three types of Echinacea used medicinally; Echinacea purpurea (Purple

Coneflower), Echinacea pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower) and Echinacea

augustifolia (Narrow-Leafed Purple Coneflower).

 

All the Echinacea have basically the same medicinal properties. There are many

different chemical constituents within each variety, some have more of some,

some have less. Some have a one or more the others don't. I am not going to go

into an in-depth report on the different chemical compounds, for time as well as

clarity’s sake, if you are interested in a serious scientific analysis of these

elements, as well as their relationship to their healing properties, please

refer to the book list, Christopher Hobb's book goes into it in depth. Because

of both it's popularity and it's positive results seen in the medical community,

Echinacea has been placed under very detailed analysis over the last one hundred

years; in the last seventy mostly in Germany. However, in the last decade in

this country it has been seriously studied and analyzed. This is good. Not only

do we get a full understanding of why this herb does what it does and how we

should use it; but it proves to the skeptics that

there is scientific proof of Herbal Healing. it protects the consumer as we

learn more about a plants properties; The mistake is when this information is

used to regulate and prevent the consumer from obtaining an herb and the right

to make their own decisions.

 

Still, with all the recent study the debate over which Echinacea is the best

still continues; many Herbal Healers prefer angustifolia, claiming it is the

strongest and most effective. Augustifolia and pallida have the same

constituents, but pallida being in weaker concentrations, and due to it's

capacity for bio-chemical breakdown, has a much shorter shelf life. As far as I

can tell in my research, which herb to use is personal preference. However, over

harvesting has resulted in a marked decrease in the wild angustifolia and so, it

is recommended to purchase the more easily commercially grown purpurea. Over the

last 100 years,50,000 to 100,000 pounds of wild crafted Echinacea has been

exported to Europe. And now we are beginning to use an equal amount of this Herb

domestically. Also, with wild crafted herbs, one is dependent on the hope that

the harvester has a conscience, and not just with conservation in mind; many

factors need to be met to insure that the herb you are purchasing

is of good quality; was it harvested at the right time of year? the right time

of day? the ideal growing conditions? was it even the right herb harvested? The

FDA and Department of Agriculture allow a percentage for " adulterants " , this is

an amount allowed for misidentification and the intentional addition of similar

species. For example, much of the wild crafted angustifolia has large amounts

the less effective pallida in them (as well as other non-medicinally used

Echinaceas) and this is perfectly acceptable to the present regulations. Couple

this with over harvesting and a lot can be said for purchasing organic

commercially grown herbs. Organic is emphasized, because then you can insure

further the hope that your herbs have been grown in the proper conditions by

persons with a little more awareness. Also, purpurea is generally less expensive

than angustifolia due to it's being easier to cultivate. Purpurea is the one

most commonly used in Europe and European preparations. Whether

this is due to it's superior herbal properties or it being the most easiest

cultivated is another debatable issue. One story is that a Doctor doing studies

on Echinacea in the late 1800's in Germany order the seed of angustifolia for

his studies. It wasn't until the herbs were growing that he found out he had

been sent purpurea. He didn't let this stop him he continued his study and found

that purpurea substituted perfectly for the uses he had in mind. That study is

the basis for the European market and use of purpurea.

 

Echinacea's, though native to the plains region of North America, are easily

grown in many areas. It's beautiful, almost magenta flowers are enough reason to

add to your garden, but if you choose to grow it medicinally, and harvest the

root, you should wait to harvest it no earlier than it's third year of growth

and no later than it's fourth. This is when the chemical constituents are at

their peak. The best way to insure this is to start your own seeds.

 

Echinacea seeds need to be stratified: that is given a time at being frozen.

Either the seed packets, or the sown seed in growing medium are placed in the

freezer or place outside. Direct seeding in Fall works well and is very easy.

 

To harvest any root, you wait until between the first frost and when you can no

longer find the plant either due to total loss of foliage or you can't find it

under the snow. The energies, sugars, starch and medicinal alkaloids are at

their peak at this time as the plants ready themselves for dormancy for the

winter. Ideally, another time to try and aim for when harvesting roots is in the

waning moon, between the full moon and the new moon. This is the time when the

moon is sending energies inward. This adds to the energy and so the medicinal

alkaloids in the root system. You can harvest roots in the Spring but in my

opinion not only is the plant " tired " out from surviving the Winter, but it

doesn’t seem fair to dig it up after surviving the long cold Winter.

 

When you are harvesting leaves and flowers you do so between the new moon and

the full, during the time of it's waxing and the moon is pulling energy outward.

The best time of day to harvest flowers and leaves is in the mornings, on a

clear sunny day right after the dew has dried. On average through out the

growing season, between before 10:00 am and 11:00 am.

 

Teas, salves, liniments, and tinctures can be made out of the root, seeds and

leaves and flowers. The root is the most widely used part. Though I like to make

a tincture from the leaves and flowers in the summer months and after straining,

use that tincture for the base of the root tincture

 

It is used for both internal and external uses as an anti-bacterial. It is said

to be anti-viral, an alternative, lymphatic and as stimulate for saliva

production. It is an excellent immune system tonic. It is said to be used for

the treatment of blood poisoning, boils, abscesses, bacterial and viral

infections. It is reported to be especially good for upper respiratory

infections like tonsillitis, bronchitis and laryngitis and the treatment of

fevers, colds and flu. It helps to rebuild damaged tissue, inhibits the growth

of tumors and recently has been used in the treatments of candida. It is even

reported to be insecticidal.

 

While large doses are noted to be not only safe but recommended in crisis and

chronic illnesses, dosage for small children should be observed closely as it

can cause them stomach irritation. For further information check out the books

listed in the Bibliography below.

 

As with any herb the first time you start taking Echinacea in low then

increasing doses. (See the article on Herbs and Toxicity)

 

The most widely recommend manner in which to take Echinacea is to start of with

a low dose at the first sign of symptoms; about three times a day, increasing as

needed to upward of every two hours, again decreasing as symptoms subside. The

length of time depends on various reports but a generalization would be to stop

after 3 – 4 weeks; starting again after a week if needed. It is in my opinion

that if you are still that sick and haven’t consulted a Healthcare Practitioner

of some type you should at that time.

 

With the new strains of virus developing due to the over use of anti-biotics the

use of herbal immune stimulants is becoming increasingly important. This brings

out the concept of the " cure all " or panacea. Occasionally, an herb, vitamin or

other substance catches the attention of the population and is deemed the new

" cure all " . Twenty years ago it was Vitamin C. Now, this is an excellent vitamin

and one that should, in my opinion be taken as needed. If you feel a " bug "

coming on it helps to fight it off or alleviate the symptoms by taking Vitamin

C. But it will not always cure you and I have found that when people take it and

they still get sick or don't get better immediately, they claim it doesn't work

at all. In the last few years Echinacea has taken the place of Vitamin C in this

type of observation. It is possible if you are taking Echinacea and you still

got sick that you possibly didn't take enough, or even that you were taking too

much, it is also possible that no matter

what you do you will still catch that bug. In that case Echinacea will help you

fight off the extreme symptoms, but still that doesn't mean you won’t feel

miserable or that it is not working. Echinacea helps you to build up the energy

to fight off infections. Sometimes the body just has to go through with the

symptoms and get on with things. So, the best thing for you to do is treat the

symptoms and get on with things too. There are no " Cure Alls " . The best way to

stay healthy, in my opinion is a healthy diet, moderate exercise and drink

plenty of fresh clean water; with the occasional use of herbs when needed.

 

One last thing to consider in herbal healing is that what will cure one person

may not cure another, each of us is a unique individual and though we may have

the same symptoms as another, the solution for it's alleviation will not

necessarily be the same as someone else's. When treating an individual, it must

be remembered that that persons problems are individual too. So if you have a

friend where an herb helped them and it has done nothing for you, it doesn't

mean herbal healing itself doesn't work, just that, that herb, for that problem

wasn't the one for you. You have to keep searching and trying and eventually you

will find your own unique solution.

 

Bibliography

 

Echinacea, The Immune Herb Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac. Botanica Press

 

The Way of Herbs Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D. Pocket Books

 

The Green Pharmacy James A. Duke, Ph.D. Rodale Press

 

School of Natural Healing Dr. John R. Christopher Christopher Publications

 

Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants Steven Foster and James

Duke

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

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http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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