Echinacea doesn't help the prevention of the common cold

Whenever I feel a cold coming on I take this garlic extract. It really seems to work. What never worked for me was echinacea. Here's a July 28th article from the New England Journal of Medicine that states Echinacea does not work as a remedy for the common cold.

An Evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in Experimental Rhinovirus Infections

Ronald B. Turner, M.D., Rudolf Bauer, Ph.D., Karin Woelkart, Thomas C. Hulsey, D.Sc., and J. David Gangemi, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

Background Echinacea has been widely used as an herbal remedy for the common cold, but efficacy studies have produced conflicting results, and there are a variety of echinacea products on the market with different phytochemical compositions. We evaluated the effect of chemically defined extracts from Echinacea angustifolia roots on rhinovirus infection.

Methods Three preparations of echinacea, with distinct phytochemical profiles, were produced by extraction from E. angustifolia roots with supercritical carbon dioxide, 60 percent ethanol, or 20 percent ethanol. A total of 437 volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either prophylaxis (beginning seven days before the virus challenge) or treatment (beginning at the time of the challenge) either with one of these preparations or with placebo. The results for 399 volunteers who were challenged with rhinovirus type 39 and observed in a sequestered setting for five days were included in the data analysis.

Results There were no statistically significant effects of the three echinacea extracts on rates of infection or severity of symptoms. Similarly, there were no significant effects of treatment on the volume of nasal secretions, on polymorphonuclear leukocyte or interleukin-8 concentrations in nasal-lavage specimens, or on quantitative-virus titer.

Conclusions The results of this study indicate that extracts of E. angustifolia root, either alone or in combination, do not have clinically significant effects on infection with a rhinovirus or on the clinical illness that results from it.

Source Information

From the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville (R.B.T.); Karl-Franzens-Universitaet, Graz, Austria (R.B., K.W.); the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston (T.C.H.); and Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. (J.D.G.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Turner at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, P.O. Box 800386, Charlottesville, VA 22908, or at rbt2n@virginia.edu.

from: New England Journal of Medicine

Some suggest its the power of the mind.

So, what do you think of this?

Do you remember Granny's secret recipe to fight the common cold on the Beverly Hilbillies? Mr. Drysdale was going to make a lot of money on it!

Her remedy truely works and I've used similar remedies for years!

She got Drysdale to take it for his cold. (She informed him that she had the cure for the common cold and that 'hill folks had it for years', even if "modern" medicine didn't.) After Drysdale went through her torturous treatment, he asked her how long it would take until his cold was cured, and she replied that thanks to her remedy, it would be gone in a week or two.

Ha! A week or two! I love that episode!