Echinacea
by Ela Heyn
From time to time, the topic of echinacea use has come up on ferret lists,
just as it comes up frequently on the herb lists (for humans) to which I
am subscribed. The topic interested me, so I’ve been doing a little
medical research (on Medline) for studies showing how echinacea can be used
to treat ferrets (and humans). Here are a few more interesting reports from
medical journals which I have found, which might be of use to someone:
From the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1989 May 3; 81(9)669-75:
“In this study, acidic arabinogalactan, a highly purified polysaccharide from plant cell cultures of Echinacea purpurea, with a molecular weight of 75,000 was effective in activating macrophages to cytotoxicity against tumor cells and micro-organisms (Leishmania enriettii). ... When injected ip, this agent stimulated macrophages, a finding that may have therapeutic implications in the defense against tumors and infectious diseases”.From the International Journal of Immunopharmacology, 1997 Jul; 19(7):371-9:
“These results demonstrate the immune stimulatory ability of the unpurified fresh pressed juice of Echinacea purpurea and offer some insight into the nature of the resulting immune response as compared to endotoxin”.From the Department of Medicine, U.C. Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA (reported in Immunopharmacology 1997 Jan; 35(3): 229-35):
“The extracts of Echinacea purpurea and Panax ginseng enhance cellular immune function of PBMC both from normal individuals and patients with depressed cellular immunity”.
Echinacea purpurea
- Increases the “non-specific” activity of the immune system (stimulates the overall activity of the cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infection. Unlike antibiotics, which are directly lethal to bacteria, echinacea makes our own immune cells more efficient in attacking bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, including cancer cells.)
- Over 500 scientific studies have documented the chemistry, pharmacology,and clinical applications of echinacea.
- The most consistently proven effect of echinacea is in stimulating phagocytosis, that is encouraging white blood cells and lymphocytes to attack invading organisms.
- increases the number and activity of immune system cells, including anti-tumor cells: - promotes T-cell activation; - stimulates new tissue growth for wound healing; - reduces inflammation in arthritis and inflammatory skin conditions; - Mild antibiotic action: bacteriostatic, anti-viral, anti-fungal. - inhibits the bacterial enzyme hyaluronidase, to help prevent bacterial access to healthy cells.
Source:Herb Information Greenpapers
Other studies of note:
Clinical Study: an extract of echinacea showed an increase of 50%-120% in immune function over a 5 day period (Jurcic, et al. 1989). Clinical Study: an extract of echinacea significantly increased the resistance to flu and reduced the symptoms of lymph gland swelling, inflamed nasal passages and headache (Braunig, et al. 1992). Clinical Study: Of 4500 patients with inflammatory skin conditions, including psoriasis, 85% were cured with topical applications of echinacea salve (Wacker & Hilbig, 1978).
Recommended Reading
- Echinacea, Nature’s Immune Enhancer by Stephen Foster Healing Arts Press,1991
- Echinacea, the Immune Herb by Christopher Hobbs. Botanica Press, 1990
- Botanical Influences on Illness by Melvyn Werbach and Michael Murray. Third Line Press, 1994. See chapters on Cancer, Candidiasis, Immunodepression, Infection, Wound Healing
- Herbal Medicine by Rudolf Weiss. AB Arcanum, 1988
Selected References: British Herbal Pharmacopeia, 1992. Kommission E Monographs:
Echinacea. Kooperation Phytopharmaka, , Germany. Jurcic, et al. Zeitschrift
fur Phytotherapie 10 (2), 1989. Braunig, et al. Zeitschrift fur Phytotherapie
13: 7-13, 1992. Wagner and Proksch 1985 In: Economic and Medicinal Plant
Research, Academic Press, Orlando, p.113. Wacker & Hilbig.
Planta Medica 33(1): 89-102, 1978. Chone & Mandakis. Deutsch Med. Wschr.
27:
p. 1406 Luettig, et al. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 81(9): 669-75, 1989. Stimpel,
et al. Infect. Immun. 46, 845, 1984; Steinmuller, et al. Int. J. Immunopharmac.,
Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 605-614, 1993. [Posted in FML issue 3089]