May 25, 2005 – There is a large body of studies whose results seem to confirm the usefulness of echinacea in reducing the duration and intensity of cold symptoms. But, its effectiveness is not yet demonstrated beyond any doubt.
In 2004, four double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were published to measure the effectiveness of echinacea in preventing or treating the common cold. According to the results of this research, it seems that echinacea could help alleviate the symptoms of the common cold, provided it is taken at the very beginning of the infection, but that it would be much less effective when the disease is well established.
In February 2004, the results of a trial conducted in Alberta with 282 adult subjects1 indicated that a standardized extract of echinacea (Echinacea purpurea of the brand Echinilin) could, when administered at the onset of symptoms, reduce their intensity by 23.1% (cough, sore throat, runny nose, etc.).
In March 2004, Israeli researchers announced that, in a trial involving 430 children aged 1 to 5 years2, a preparation based on echinacea, propolis and vitamin C had the effect of significantly reducing the intensity of cold symptoms and reducing the number of days the children had been sick.
In May of the same year, a team of American researchers published the results of a trial carried out on 48 healthy adults.3. Each had received either echinacea (tincture ofEchinacea purpurea), or a placebo, for 14 days. On the seventh day, all subjects were voluntarily inoculated with a cold virus. In both the treated group and the placebo group, more than 90% of the subjects were infected with the virus. The researchers, however, reported a slight tendency for less intense clinical manifestations in subjects who took echinacea.
The following month, two other American researchers published the results of a trial in 128 adult subjects suffering from a cold for 24 hours.4. In this case, the echinacea extract used (lyophilized juice ofEchinacea purpurea) was not more effective than placebo in reducing the intensity of cold symptoms or reducing their duration.
Note that there is currently no remedy, natural or synthetic, that can stop the action of the various viruses that cause the common cold. We can therefore only act on the symptoms of this disease which, in the United States, for example, affects adults at a rate of two to four times a year, while young children often suffer from it six to ten times a year. during the same year.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to HerbalGram.
1. Goel V, Lovlin R, Barton R, et al. Efficacy of a standardized echinacea preparation (Echinilin) for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.J Clin Pharm Ther. 2004 Feb; 29 (1): 75-83.
2. Cohen HA, Varsano I, Kahan E, et al. Effectiveness of an herbal preparation containing echinacea, propolis, and vitamin C in preventing respiratory tract infections in children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004 Mar; 158 (3): 217-21.
3. Sperber SJ, Shah LP, et al. Echinacea purpurea for prevention of experimental rhinovirus colds.Clin Infect Dis. 2004 May 15; 38 (10): 1367-71. Epub 2004 Apr 26.
4. Yale SH, Liu K. Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Arch Intern Med. 2004 Jun 14; 164 (11): 1237-41.
