The purple coneflower is another name for the genus of native North American plants known as echinacea. An extract derived from the root of the herb Echinacea purpurea is the most popular herbal product in the country. Commercial echinacea preparations are often not standardized to any specific component because the plant’s active ingredient has not been discovered. The variability of the products utilized in different studies makes it challenging to evaluate the echinacea study literature. The herb is frequently used for this purpose and has been suggested as a preventative therapy for upper respiratory infections. However, it appears from the available research that taking preventive echinacea has little to no effect on the frequency, severity, or duration of upper respiratory infections. The evidence for treating upper respiratory infections seems to point to a slight favorable impact. Echinacea has not been associated with any significant herb-drug interactions, and the few and mild side effects that have been documented include nausea, dizziness, and gastrointestinal distress.
The purple coneflower is another name for the genus of plants known as echinacea, which are indigenous to the Midwest of North America. Three of the nine species of echinacea—Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, and Echinacea pallida—are used to make echinacea preparations. The preparation that is used the most frequently in this nation is a liquid extract prepared from E. purpurea root. There are many different trade names used to market echinacea.
Native Americans were the first to employ this plant medicinally, using E. angustifolia to cure everything from respiratory ailments to snakebites. Echinacea was employed as a blood purifier and a dizziness remedy during the 19th century. Up until the invention of current antibiotics, it was utilized as a cold and flu cure as well as an anti-infective. Echinacea is one of the top three plants sold in the US thanks to its recent revival as a remedy for upper respiratory infections (URIs). 1
Echinacea cannot be combined with anything.
What foods and medicines should I stay away from while taking echinacea? Avoid anything that contains caffeine, including coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks, and other items. Echinacea can intensify the negative effects of caffeine, including headache, rapid heartbeat, and jitteriness.
Echinacea and blood pressure medications: are they compatible?
There is no proof that echinacea would interact with diuretics, although several natural items, such as Siberian ginseng, St. Mary’s thistle, and grapefruit juice, have been reported to interfere with various types of blood-pressure medication.
Those who shouldn’t consume echinacea
The more frequent echinacea adverse effects are as follows:
- headaches
- dizziness
- feeling unwell
- belly pain
- constipation
- skin repercussions (redness, itchiness and swelling)
- Children are more likely to have them.
Echinacea use for longer than 8 weeks at a time may cause liver damage or immune system suppression. If you are taking medications known to have an adverse effect on your liver, herbalists advise against taking echinacea.
If you use any additional medications, herbs, or supplements, check with your doctor first.
Using echinacea safely
If you want to substitute echinacea for your cancer therapy, let your doctor know. Additionally, if you are considering taking it concurrently with your cancer therapy.
In some people, it may not be safe to use in conjunction with other cancer treatments.
Echinacea may impair the effectiveness of some chemotherapy medications, including etoposide.
Sometimes pharmacists and medical professionals advise lymphoma patients not to consume echinacea. This is so that it won’t affect how they’re being treated.
Researchers discovered that echinacea and etravine were safe to ingest together in HIV-positive individuals.
If any of the following apply to you before consuming echinacea:
- are breastfeeding or pregnant
- have a medical condition like autoimmune illness, HIV, or AIDS that impairs your immune system
- are medicating to weaken your immune system because it might fight them
- are under 12 years old
- There is a possibility of allergic responses including skin rashes, according to the medical health regulatory association (MHRA).
Always discuss the use of complementary or alternative cancer therapy with your doctors and nurses. They could affect how well your other therapies work.
Your treatment team can point you in the direction of further resources if they don’t have the knowledge you need.
Can echinacea be taken with vitamin D?
Vitamin D3 and echinacea did not interact in any way. This does not imply that there are no interactions, though. Always get advice from your doctor.
Echinacea in COVID-19
Echinacea appears to be effective against COVID-19 due to its antiviral and immunomodulatory properties [13, 26]. Echinacea has been studied for its potential to treat and prevent respiratory tract infections like the common cold, but not for other medical conditions [27]. Echinacea and COVID-19 have not yet been the subject of any investigations [28]. The safe and efficient use of echinacea in the treatment or prevention of viral infections was determined by a meta-analysis of 17 clinical trials. Echinacea was found to enhance or not modify anti-inflammatory or immune-stimulatory cytokines, while decreasing or not changing pro-inflammatory cytokines linked to cytokine storm (IL-6, IL-1, and TNF-). This analysis involved 12 clinical trials (IL-10, IL-2, IL-8, IL-3, and IFN-). Since immune stimulatory and anti-inflammatory actions are required during infections yet pro-inflammatory cytokines might worsen the condition, these effects are advantageous. The most often reported adverse effects were insomnia, digestive problems, and anxiety. There was one case of severe erythema recorded. It is challenging to assess the safety of echinacea in patients with comorbidities because the majority of trials only involved healthy volunteers and the dose and extraction method were quite diverse [28].
Echinacea in diabetes
The effects of echinacea on diabetes haven’t been the subject of many investigations. 33 days of echinacea root extract in Wistar rats demonstrated hypoglycemic efficacy comparable to glibenclamide. There was no research done on safety parameters [29]. The activities of -amylase, -glucosidase, and ACE were decreased by echinacea purpureaflower extract and caffeic acid derivatives in a concentration-dependent manner [30].
Echinacea in heart disease
The impact of echinacea on cardiac diseases including hypertension and hypercholesterolemia has seldom ever been investigated. In a study with 374 older participants, 349 reported using over-the-counter medications, whereas 43 reported using herbal remedies. Aspirin, acetaminophen, laxatives, antiacids, and vitamins were the most often used over-the-counter medications, whereas echinacea was the most popular herbal treatment [31]. The possibility of echinacea interacting with medications is suggested by this one study.
Echinacea toxicity
Echinacea was rated as having good or medium levels of evidence for its safety and efficacy in a review article [32]. It is debatable if echinacea use for longer than 8 weeks causes hepatotoxicity [6]. Echinacea, on the other hand, has been demonstrated to protect the liver and kidneys from toxins in rats while having no effect on the liver and kidney markers AST, ALT, ALP, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine [33]. After giving Echinacea purpurea to rats and mice at high dosages orally or intravenously, no harmful effects were noticed. There is no proof that hamster embryonic cells are carcinogenic or mutagenic in mice or in vitro [34]. Echinacea should not be used by people who have autoimmune diseases. There is not enough data to determine how echinacea affects renal impairment [35].
Echinacea pharmacokinetics
Echinacea purpurearoot inhibited CYP1A2 and increased CYP3A enzymes in 12 healthy men and women when tested in vivo [36]. Echinacea purpurea increased CYP3A enzymes in a separate research with 13 healthy people, but it had no effect on the pharmacokinetics of ritonavir. Since ritonavir inhibits CYP3A, it probably prevented the induction brought on by echinacea. P-glycoprotein was not affected [37]. Echinacea purpurea revealed conflicting results on CYP3A4 and a little suppression of CYP2C9 in an in vitro research [38]. Echinacea has a significant likelihood of drug-herb interactions, according to a review article [39].
Echinacea safety summary
When consumed by healthy individuals for a brief period of time—up to 8 weeks—echinacea is probably safe. Patients with diabetes or heart problems are unknown to be safe. When combined with drugs metabolized by CYP3A, 1A2, and 2C9 enzymes, caution should be exercised.
Which herbs should be avoided when taking blood pressure medication?
Examples of herbal supplements that may interfere with blood pressure drugs or your blood pressure are as follows:
- Arnica (Arnica montana)
- Ephedra (ma-huang)
- Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius and Panax ginseng)
- Guarana (Paullinia cupana)
- Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
Positive effect on the immune System
Numerous studies have revealed that this plant may support your immune system’s ability to fight viruses and infections, which may speed up your recovery from illness (8, 9, 10).
Echinacea is frequently used to either prevent or treat the common cold because of this.
In fact, a review of 14 studies revealed that echinacea supplementation may reduce the likelihood of getting a cold by more than 50% and shorten its duration by 1.5 days (11).
Numerous research on the subject, nevertheless, have a weak design and offer little genuine value. Due to this, it can be difficult to determine if echinacea use has any beneficial effects on colds vs random events (12).
In conclusion, echinacea may increase immunity, but it is unknown how it may affect the common cold.
May lower blood sugar levels
This includes heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and a number of other chronic illnesses.
Research in test tubes suggests that echinacea plants may aid in lowering blood sugar levels.
An Echinacea purpurea extract was demonstrated in a test-tube investigation to inhibit enzymes that break down carbs. If you ate this, it would lower the quantity of sugar that entered your blood (13).
By activating the PPAR-y receptor, a popular target of diabetic medications, echinacea extracts were found to increase cells’ sensitivity to the effects of insulin in additional test-tube tests (14, 15).
A risk factor for insulin resistance, excess blood fat is eliminated by this specific receptor. As a result, cells respond to insulin and sugar more quickly (16).
Research on how echinacea affects blood sugar in humans is still inadequate.
May reduce feelings of anxiety
Nearly one in five American adults suffer from anxiety, which is a widespread problem (17).
According to research, echinacea plants contain substances that may help people feel less anxious. Alkamides, rosmarinic acid, and caffeic acid are a few of these (18).
Three out of five echinacea samples reduced anxiety in a mouse research. In addition, unlike higher doses of conventional treatments, they did not cause the mice to become less active (18).
Another study discovered that Echinacea angustifolia extract significantly decreased anxiety in rats and people (19).
However, there are currently very few studies on echinacea and anxiety. Before echinacea products are suggested as a potential treatment, more research is required.
Anti-inflammatory properties
Your body naturally promotes healing and defends itself by inducing inflammation.
Inflammation can occasionally become out of control and persist longer than intended and necessary. This could increase your risk of developing chronic illnesses and other health issues.
Echinacea chemicals reduced significant inflammatory markers and inflammation-related memory loss in a mouse research (20).
Adults with osteoarthritis who took a supplement containing echinacea extract for 30 days noticed a significant decrease in swelling, chronic pain, and inflammation.
Interestingly, echinacea extract-containing supplements were effective for these adults even though they did not respond well to traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDS) (21).
May help treat skin concerns
In a test-tube experiment, researchers discovered that the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial characteristics of echinacea inhibited the growth of Propionibacterium, a common acne-causing bacteria (22).
Another study on 10 healthy adults aged 25 to 40 found that using skin care products with echinacea extract increased skin moisture and decreased wrinkles (23).
Similar to this, it has been demonstrated that a cream containing Echinacea purpurea extract can lessen eczema symptoms and aid in repairing the skin’s thin, protective outer layer (24).
Echinacea extract doesn’t seem to have a long shelf life, making it challenging to use in industrial skin care products.
Brief overview
However, no studies utilizing Echinacea in the prevention or treatment of illnesses similar to COVID-19 have been found. Current research suggests that echinacea supplementation may reduce the duration and severity of acute respiratory tract infections. There were not many side events reported, indicating the relative safety of this herbal medication. Clinical studies have shown that Echinacea lowers levels of immunological molecules associated with cytokine storm, despite the fact that it might boost immune activity, which raises concerns that it can worsen over-activation of the immune system in cytokine storm.
Verdict
When given at the earliest sign of infection, Echinacea supplements may help with the symptoms of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and the common cold. No trials employing Echinacea in the prevention or treatment of illnesses like COVID-19, however, have been found. When taken at the outset of symptoms, Echinacea may lessen the intensity and/or duration of ARI, according to earlier research. E. purpurea or a mixture of E. purpurea and E. angustifolia having standardized levels of active components were employed in trials claiming benefit.
Echinacea use hasn’t been associated with many side effects, which suggests that this herbal remedy is generally harmless. No human studies using echinacea for up to 4 months could be found that showed cytokine storm symptoms.
The results were largely consistent with a reduction in the pro-inflammatory cytokines that are involved in the progression of cytokine storm and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), factors that are highly significant in the death of COVID-19 patients when looking at all human trials that reported changes in cytokine levels in response to Echinacea supplementation. Even though there isn’t any research on the therapeutic benefits of echinacea in the treatment of cytokine storms right now, this evidence shows that more study is necessary.
Does echinacea have any negative side effects?
Echinacea is probably short-term safe for the majority of people when taken orally. It is safe to utilize different echinacea products for up to 10 days. Some products, like Echinaforce (A. Vogel Bioforce AG), offer a six-month safe usage period.
The most frequent adverse reactions are rash, diarrhea, heartburn, constipation, and stomach pain. Some people may experience adverse responses, particularly those who are allergic to ragweed, mums, marigolds, or daisies.
Echinacea may be safe for short-term use when applied topically. Echinacea-containing cream (Linola Plus Cream) has been used safely for up to 12 weeks. Echinacea topical application may result in skin redness, itching, or rashes.