Echinacea Extract

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in July 2005, which found that echinacea is not effective against colds, has indeed affected sales of echinacea - and public perception - in some circles . In the United Kingdom, for example, sales have fallen from a peak of 6.1 million euros to 4.9 million in 2005. This is unfortunate, because the study has been roundly criticized by a number of areas.

There are three basic areas that were questioned in the study:

1. Dosage
2. the type of product used Echinacea
3. the relevance of artificially inducing virus in healthy young and

The dosage of echinacea used is one of the most critical. Even assuming that the quality of echinacea extract used in this study was the same as that used by good commercial preparations, the study participants received approximately one third of the dose recommended for people suffering from a cold .

students in the study patients were only given 1.5 ml of extracts of echinacea three times a day. In milligrams, the 1.5 ml was approximately equivalent to 300 mg of dried root powder, or 900 mg of echinacea per day in total. Compare that to the dose recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 3 grams per day of dried root. Thus, the World Health Organization recommends echinacea 330% more per day for symptoms of flu and cold. As Michael McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association, said: "It's like conducting a study on the effect of one third of aspirin and wonder why you still have a headache."

The headache continues for good science. Looking at the type of echinacea extract used in the study, there are other deviations from the commercial preparations.

The study used extracts that were made in a university laboratory. If there was a standard method to extract echinacea for all active ingredients were present in similar quantities, it would not be a problem. However, this is simply not the case. MediHerb, who make herbal preparations according to the guidelines of good manufacturing practice pharmaceutical, wrote that after experimenting with other commercial products worldwide echinacea, they could not find one that was everywhere near the level of alkylamides that their product does the strongest echinacea. Echinacea alkylamides are an important component responsible for active immune stimulation.

It is significant that even among the commercial products - made by companies who have an interest in obtaining extracts of Echinacea right - there is such a difference in quality. Even Consumer Lab, an independent testing body, noticed a contradiction in the various commercial preparations. They were testing for phenols, alkylamide not, however.

But what hope is there a laboratory study, without experience in making echinacea, has been able to produce the quality that many commercial preparations failed to deliver? In any case, unless the co-coordinators of the study provide a chemical profile of Echinacea they did, comparisons to commercial products are without scientific basis.

One of the authors of the study, David Gangemi, even said this about the dosage and the sample they used: "I think in retrospect if we go back and look at some of the other products that may exist be that we are only one tenth the level we should be. "

The last point was raised about the study is how it is relevant to compare the experiences of college students in health, with a good immune system, for the typical consumer of echinacea supplements. As an herbalist said, it is difficult to generalize their experience: "It could be unrelated to the actual situation where people whose immunity is compromised are exposed to a range of constantly evolving viruses and bacteria.

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