Tidbits

Subject: Echinacea doesn't work???

Shaklee friends,

A recent study, which evaluated the effects of the extract of Echinacea angustifolia on experimentally induced rhinovirus (common cold) infections, observed no significant effect on the rates of infection or the severity of symptoms. (1)

This study is already catching fire from a variety of institutions. The American Botanical Council's criticism is that the extracts they used were made within a university laboratory and do not correlate with commercially available Echinacea products, and that the dosages used in this trial were probably too low. (2)

The American Herbal Products Association, a national trade association also maintained that the dosage was too low: "The standard dosage for dried Echinacea angustifolia root used at the onset of a cold is well established at 3 grams per day or more and this study used less than one gram.” (3)

Even one of the article’s authors has acknowledged that the amount of Echinacea used in the study may have been insufficient. David Gangemi, PhD, of Clemson University, responded to a question posed about this research at last month’

s Medicines from the Earth Symposium in Black Mountain, NC, by stating, “I think in retrospect if we go back and we look at some of the other products that are out there maybe we’re only one tenth the level we should be” (emphasis added).

Another confounder is that many of the Echinacea products commonly used in America contain the E. pupurea species rather than the E. angustifolia version.

It's hard to predict if the popular press will jump on the "Echinacea doesn't work" bandwagon. Their track record in the past has not been good in accurate reporting of research results. So just as I would do when I experience the first symptoms of a cold, I am proactively addressing this bad study with a stiff dose of Echinacea facts!

Frank Painter DC

1. An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections N Engl J Med. 2005 (Jul 28); 353 (4): 341-348

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=stract&list_uids_ 049208&query_hl=1

1a. (From Sandy; Couldn’t get into the above site but found this one with lots of references.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed

2. Herbal Science Group Says Dosage Too Low in New Echinacea Trial

http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp?c=hinacea072605

3. NEJM Publishes Study on Low-dose Echinacea for Colds

http://www.ahpa.org/update_05_0727.htm

Thanks to Dr. Brouse for the following information. Dr. Brouse is widely recognized in the fields of nutrition and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. He has a Master’s in Biochemistry and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. He was an Associate Professor of Clinical Nutrition for 14 years and founded the Sunnyside Health Center in Clackamas Oregon in 1977.

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