The Purple Coneflower's Immune-Bolstering Powers

While nutritional immunology shines the light on some newer ingredients, other natural cold and flu remedies have captured consumers' attention for decades, even centuries. The purple coneflower, known in herbal science as Echinacea, has a storied traditional medicinal past, but an up-and-down path in recent scientific research.

This popular immune health remedy is touted for its role in activating front line immune cells, including macrophages, which swallow debris and pathogens (viruses, bacteria, etc.). People take Echinacea for its reported ability to shorten the duration and severity of colds and flus.^1,2 Protection via Echinacea supplementation appears more pronounced in people who exercise regularly, as the herb helps limit post-workout decreases in mucosal immunoglobulin-A (IgA) antibodies.³

Unfortunately for consumers, the mass media picked up a 2005 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) report on a study that concluded no significant benefit from Echinacea on the rate of infection or symptom severity in students subjected to a viral rhinovirus challenge.⁴ However, the herbal industry quickly debunked this slender journalism, questioning the doses and preparation used, as well as the protocol relative to standards put in place by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). This trial was a stark departure from hundreds of previous trials showing some benefit from Echinacea supplementation on the severity and duration of the cold. Likewise, the method of delivering the rhinovirus directly into the nose was challenged, as this same method failed to produce a benefit from vitamin C supplementation, despite the long list of research showing such a benefit from vitamin C.

Some consumers were influenced by the media reports on the NEJM trial, but most saw through the weak study design and seemingly malicious intent of the accompanying editorial. "Consumers have been coming back [to Echinacea], thanks to efforts of the industry and of manufacturers such as Bioforce AG, which has funded and sponsored clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals," said Eileen Sheets, managing director for Bioforce. "Our sales of Echinaforce have been steadily climbing during the past three years, and we expect even higher sales for this coming cold season."

As the NEJM Echinacea debacle showed, the key for retailers and consumers is in the quality and formulation of Echinacea products. Sheets stressed the importance of manufacturers controlling their product from seed to shelf via standardized process. "Bioforce has its own organic farm, using its own seeds, its own expert gardeners and its validated manufacturing process," she explained, noting the company even blends all the individual batches from a given growing season into a yearly batch to even out any naturally occurring ups and downs in constituents. "By standardizing the whole process in this manner, we can be certain that the quality and efficacy of every bottle of Echinaforce will be the same—a customer who uses Echinaforce effectively one time will have the same result each time they use it." When companies have less control over these stages of manufacturing, customers may find that a product will work one time and not another.

For information on other natural treatments for cold and flu, see our Probiotics and Colostrum for Cold and Flu Season.

References

1. Shah SA et al. "Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis." Lancet Infect Dis. 2007; 7(7):473-80.

2. Randolph RK et al. "Regulation of human immune gene expression as influenced by a commercial blended Echinacea product: preliminary studies." Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2003 Oct;228(9):1051-6.

3. Hall H et al. "Echinacea purpurea and mucosal immunity." Int J Sports Med. 2007 Sep;28(9):792-7.

4. Turner RB et al. "An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections." N Engl J Med. 2005 Jul 28;353(4):341-8.