Echinacea
Definition
Echinacea is a perennial plant native to North
America that is farmed in both the United States and
Europe for use indietary supplements. Echinacea is a
genus in the aster family containing nine plant species.
Three species,Echinacea angustifolia,E. purpurea, and
E. pallidaare used in complementary and alternative
medicine in the United States and Europe.
Echinacea species are commonly called cone-
flowers. The common name forE. purpureais purple
coneflower.E. pallidais known as pale purple cone-
flower andE. angustifoliaas narrow-leaf coneflower.
Echinacea is sold as an herbal dietary supplement
under a variety of trade names. It is also a common
ingredient in many supplements containing multiple
ingredients.
Purpose
Echinacea has been used as a medicinal herb in
North America for more than 400 years. Native Amer-
icans used echinacea to treat wounds, snakebites,
infections, and as a general booster of health. In the
1930s the herb was very popular in both the United
States and Europe, as it was thought to fight infection
by boosting the immune system. It was used to treat
conditions as diverse as colds, influenza, eczema,
many different types of infections, malaria, syphilis,
cancer, and diphtheria. As antibiotics became more
widely available after World War II, echinacea’s pop-
ularity declined, only to rise again in the 1980s. It is
one of the most frequently used herbal remedies in the
North America and Europe. Echinacea is especially
popular in Germany, where many practitioners of
conventional medicine accept it as a safe and effective
treatment for cold symptoms. In 2003, echinacea was
one of the top three selling herbs in the United States,
and in 2006 it was estimated to account for 10% of all
dietary supplement sales in the United States.
Description
Echinacea is a perennial herb with slender, rough
leaves arranged opposite each other on a stem that
grows to a height of about 18 in (45 cm) and produces
a single large purplish flower. Both the above ground
parts of the plant and the roots are used in dietary
supplements. Fresh leaves are pressed and the result-
ing juice is used in extracts or tinctures, or it is com-
bined with other ingredients to make a paste that can
be applied to the skin. Dried leaves and roots are
powered and made into tea or capsules. An injectable
form of echinacea is available in Europe, but not in the
United States. The active ingredients of echinacea
have not been adequately identified. As a result, it is
difficult to compare the strength and potency of differ-
ent forms of the herb or the same formulation made by
different manufacturers.Safety and effectiveness of Echinacea
Although echinacea has been used for hundreds of
years, only recently have researchers started to exam-
ine its effectiveness in large, independent, rigorously
controlled studies. Many early studies done in Ger-
many suggested that the herb was effective in treating
certain conditions. In the United States, the National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM), a government organization within the
National Institutes of Health, is currently conducting
studies on the safety and effectiveness of echinacea in
treating a variety of conditions.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Admin-
istration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements such as
echinacea using the same laws that regulate food,
rather than the laws that regulate prescription and
over-the-counter medications. Unlike conventional
drugs, dietary supplements are not required to
undergo rigorous testing to show that they are safe
and effective before they are marketed to the public.
One consequence of this is that there are many fewerEchinacea flowers, also called purple coneflowers.(Photo
Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)Echinacea