Echinacea Research

Mishima S, Saito K, Maruyama H, Inoue M, Yamashita T, Ishida T, Gu Y. Antioxidant and immuno-enhancing effects of Echinacea purpurea.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2004 Jul;27(7):1004-9.
PMID:15256730

Freier DO, Wright K, Klein K, Voll D, Dabiri K, Cosulich K, George R. Enhancement of the humoral immune response by Echinacea purpurea in female Swiss mice.
Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2003 Nov;25(4):551-60.
PMID:14686797

Hayashi I, Ohotsuki M, Suzuki I, Watanabe T. Effects of oral administration of Echinacea purpurea (American herb) on incidence of spontaneous leukemia caused by recombinant leukemia viruses in AKR/J mice.
Nihon Rinsho Meneki Gakkai Kaishi. 2001 Feb;24(1):10-20.
PMID:11280896

Gan XH, Zhang L, Heber D, Bonavida B. Mechanism of activation of human peripheral blood NK cells at the single cell level by Echinacea water soluble extracts: recruitment of lymphocyte-target conjugates and killer cells and activation of programming for lysis.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2003 Jun;3(6):811-24.
PMID:12781698

Stimpel M, Proksch A, Wagner H, Lohmann-Matthes ML. Macrophage activation and induction of macrophage cytotoxicity by purified polysaccharide fractions from the plant Echinacea purpurea.
Infect Immun. 1984 Dec;46(3):845-9.
PMID:6389368

Venkataraman M. Effects of cryopreservation on immune responses. VIII. Enhanced secretion of interferon-gamma by frozen human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
Cryobiology. 1995 Dec;32(6):528-34.
PMID:8556859

Currier NL, Miller SC. The effect of immunization with killed tumor cells, with/without feeding of Echinacea purpurea in an erythroleukemic mouse model.
J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Feb;8(1):49-58.
PMID:11890433

Burger RA, Torres AR, Warren RP, Caldwell VD, Hughes BG. Echinacea-induced cytokine production by human macrophages.
Int J Immunopharmacol. 1997 Jul;19(7):371-9.
PMID:9568541

Mate TP, Ruddle NH. Suppressor cells induced by total lymphoid irradiation affect proliferation and lymphokine production of murine T helper cell clones.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1987 Jan;13(1):61-8.
PMID:2948938

Schwarz E, Metzler J, Diedrich JP, Freudenstein J, Bode C, Bode JC. Oral administration of freshly expressed juice of Echinacea purpurea herbs fail to stimulate the nonspecific immune response in healthy young men: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.
J Immunother. 2002 Sep-Oct;25(5):413-20.
PMID:12218779

Currier NL, Miller SC.Natural killer cells from aging mice treated with extracts from Echinacea purpurea are quantitatively and functionally rejuvenated.
Exp Gerontol. 2000 Aug;35(5):627-39.
PMID:10978684

Hwang SA, Dasgupta A, Actor JK. Cytokine production by non-adherent mouse splenocyte cultures to Echinacea extracts.
Clin Chim Acta. 2004 May;343(1-2):161-6.
PMID:15115689

Currier NL, Sicotte M, Miller SC. Deleterious effects of Echinacea purpurea and melatonin on myeloid cells in mouse spleen and bone marrow.
J Leukoc Biol. 2001 Aug;70(2):274-6.
PMID:11493619

Nakayama T, Urano T, Osano M, Maehara N, Sasaki K, Hayatsu E, Makino S. Suppressive effect of macrophages on interferon-gamma production by human peripheral lymphocytes stimulated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
Microbiol Immunol. 1988;32(9):985-90.
PMID:2905415

Papermaster V, Torres BA, Johnson HM. Evidence for suppressor T-cell regulation of human gamma interferon production.
Cell Immunol. 1983 Jul 15;79(2):279-87.
PMID:6223707

Kasahara T, Hooks JJ, Dougherty SF, Oppenheim JJ. Interleukin 2-mediated immune interferon (IFN-gamma) production by human T cells and T cell subsets.
J Immunol. 1983 Apr;130(4):1784-9.
PMID:6403613

Currier NL, Miller SC. Echinacea purpurea and melatonin augment natural-killer cells in leukemic mice and prolong life span.
J Altern Complement Med. 2001 Jun;7(3):241-51.
PMID:11439845

Schnaper HW, Aune TM, Pierce CW. Suppressor T cell activation by human leukocyte interferon.
J Immunol. 1983 Nov;131(5):2301-6.
PMID:6226738

Ebert EC. Intra-epithelial lymphocytes: interferon-gamma production and suppressor/cytotoxic activities.
Clin Exp Immunol. 1990 Oct;82(1):81-5.
PMID:2145105

Roesler J, Steinmuller C, Kiderlen A, Emmendorffer A, Wagner H, Lohmann-Matthes ML. Application of purified polysaccharides from cell cultures of the plant Echinacea purpurea to mice mediates protection against systemic infections with Listeria monocytogenes and Candida albicans.
Int J Immunopharmacol. 1991;13(1):27-37.
PMID:2026472

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Echinacea tea blend shortens duration of cold symptoms

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study of 95 people, treatment with an echinacea tea preparation (Echinacea Plus®, Traditional Medicinals) early in the course of a cold or flu was significantly more effective in relieving symptoms than a placebo tea. For the 90-day study, participants reported for assignment to one of two treatment groups at the first onset of cold and flu symptoms (scratchy throat, runny nose, fever, etc.). The subjects drank 5 to 6 cups a day of echinacea or placebo tea on the first day of symptoms, reducing the dosage to 1 cup per day for the next five days. Results were assessed with a questionnaire that measured symptom relief, duration of symptoms, and time before subjects noticed a difference in symptoms. The echinacea tea was significantly more effective than placebo in all parameters measured. No side effects were reported in either group. Echinacea Plus is a proprietary blend of E. purpurea and E. angustifolia leaves, flowers, and stems, a water soluble dry extract of E. purpurea root, and flavoring herbs. Eater's Digest® (Traditional Medicinals) was selected as the placebo tea because it was not expected to have a significant effect on cold or flu symptoms at the dosages used in this study. Among other herbs, Eater's Digest contains cinnamon, ginger, and peppermint. Lindenmuth GF, Lindenmuth EB.

The efficacy of echinacea compound herbal tea preparation on the severity and duration of upper respiratory and flu symptoms: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study.

This article originally appeared in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2000; 6(4): 327-334.

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