Study Finds No Benefit In Using Echinacea To Fight Common Cold

The Sydney Morning Herald | December 18, 2002 | staff writer

[yankeedame]

Study finds no benefit in using echinacea to fight common cold

December 18 2002

Echinacea, a popular but largely untested herbal remedy for the common cold, showed no benefit when given to a small group of college students with sore throats and stuffy noses, researchers say.

University of Wisconsin researchers gave capsules of the herb to 73 students suffering from cold symptoms. Another 75 got a placebo, or dummy pill, made of alfalfa. After 10 days, both were equally ill, the study said.

"Compared with placebo, unrefined echinacea provided no detectable benefit or harm," researchers wrote in the study published in today's edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The group of Wisconsin students taking the placebo was sick for an average of 5.75 days, compared to 6.27 days for the group given echinacea.

Echinacea flowers blossom throughout North American prairies and plains. Americans annually spend about $US300 million ($A530 million) on the herb, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In an editorial accompanying the Wisconsin study, Dr Ronald Turner of the University of Virginia School of Medicine said anecdotal reports about echinacea's benefits were "difficult to ignore," despite discouraging research, and deserved further study.

Most of the study was paid for by government grants. Researchers also received funding from Shaklee Technica, a maker of herbal supplements whose echinacea capsules were used in the study.

At least two large studies in Germany concluded the herb was safe and effective for treating cold symptoms. And a 1999 study of 95 employees at a Pennsylvania nursing home found that drinking four to five cups of echinacea tea at the onset of a cold, followed by at least a cup a day, diminished symptoms and could cut the time of illness from about 14 days to about 4 days.

Dr Frank Lindenmuth, an adjunct professor at York College who conducted that study, hadn't seen the Wisconsin study but noted that only a few of the herb's 200 different forms sold worldwide have been tested.

It's possible, he said, that certain blends of the root - like hot teas - work, and others - like capsules or pills - don't.

"It's one of the big problems with the health food industry," he said. "In a lot of cases, you don't know what you're getting."

AP

[yankeedame]

I know, I know it's a herb, but everytime I hear the word "echinacea" I imagin some kind of small, South American marsupial,with a long pointy nose, that used to be hunted for its meat but today are stuffed,made into decorative lamps and sold to tourists.

[anniegetyourgun]

LOL! Just about as worthless, I'd say. I've learned to never believe anything anyone says about what will cure ya' or what will kill ya'. I'll never forget the year my mom brought me a newspaper clipping about how bananas cause cancer. Five years later I found one that says bananas cure cancer. We had a good laugh!

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

If they gave it to folks who already had sore throats and sniffles--as the article suggests--then the cows were out of the barn, and it's no wonder they showed no benefit. It is helpful when given at the first sign of a cold, or when you know you'll be exposed to folks with active bugs. But once you're infected, your immune system is going to have to do battle. The symptoms are part of the battle.

[newgeezer]

I have friends who swear they've been much less likely to get a cold since they started a regimen of echinacea at least a couple years ago.

Maybe it's effective in prevention; maybe not. No one can deny doctors as a group have a clear conflict of interest when judging home remedies.

[MadIvan]

I've seen the same people who eat tofu and brown rice promoting echinacea. As their record on cuisine is so pitiful, how could they possibly be any better at recommending medicine? ;)

Regards, Ivan

[TopQuark]

73 students suffering from cold symptoms I have always been told that it is supposed to build up the immunie system and is preventive thus. Once you have a cold, nothing will help much.

They seem to be testing an allegation that noboady makes.

[csmusaret]

You may recognize it by its common name,"Purple Cone Flower". I take it as a tea at the first sign of a cold and it works. If I wait a day or two I'm out of luck.

[TopQuark]

You have imagination of a writer. I recon, you do not take that herb.

[Cicero]

You have to take it soon enough, or it won't work.

Besides, what this study really proves is that alfalfa alleviates cold symptoms.

[kako]

I take it as a tea at the first sign of a cold and it works

Note that the study used pills.

On Fox News last night, the talking head said using echinacea in other forms, such as in a tea like you use, may have cold-fighting properties (but you already knew that!)

[Poohbah]

I take echinacea and goldenseal. Straight echinacea doesn't stop the bug once it's established, but EG will shorten the duration of your colds.

[Timesink]

Maybe it's effective in prevention; maybe not. No one can deny doctors as a group have a clear conflict of interest when judging home remedies.

Why? If echinacea really worked, they could sell it themselves right out of their offices. More $ for them.

[realpatriot]

"After 10 days, both were equally ill, the study said. "Compared with placebo, unrefined echinacea provided no detectable benefit or harm," researchers wrote in the study published in today's edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The group of Wisconsin students taking the placebo was sick for an average of 5.75 days, compared to 6.27 days for the group given echinacea.

So, in other words, after 10 days both groups were well, or "equally sick" What does that prove?

[amused]

Do you take golden seal regularly?

I have heard it has adverse effects on the liver. Especially when coupled with certain hobbies such as bottom of the beer/liquor bottle inspection.

I have no citation or anything but as with many of these herbs, anecdotal seems to be the norm.

[cyncooper]

I've seen the same people who eat tofu and brown rice promoting echinacea.

I must disagree. I take echinacea as do lots of people I know. My understanding is that it is supposed to help your immune system resist getting sick in the first place, not something to be taken during a cold to get rid of it.

Be assured, I am NOT a tofu, brown rice eating person!

(I'm not touting the herb, either, just saying it is quite popular in suburbia--perhaps we are being foolish).

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

..but everytime I hear the word "echinacea" I imagin some kind of small, South American marsupial,with a long pointy nose...

silly me. here I've been eating an echidna every day to ward off the common cold.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

I highly recommend echidna enchiladas. They're apparently worth squat as anti-cold medicine, but they do hit the spot quite nicely.

[stanz]

Exactly. Echinacea is supposed to be taken at the first sign of a sore throat or sniffles. It will do nothing if you already have a full-blown (pardon the pun)cold. You also have to take it several times a day to get the full effect.

[stanz]

It also doesn't hurt to take zinc on a regular basis along with the echinacea and goldenseal. They are a powerful preventive measure.

[newgeezer]

Why? If echinacea really worked, they could sell it themselves right out of their offices. More $ for them.

I don't know how it is where you live but, folks around here don't buy their over-the-counter drugs at doctors' offices.