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ECHINACEA PURPURA LEAF CUT Product No. P05038

Echinacea, from the Asteraceae family, includes about 9 different species, the most common being angustifolia and purpurea. It is native to the United States and does not grow wild anywhere else in the world, except some areas in southern Canada. Echinacea can easily be found growing as a wildflower in the prairies of the Great Plains states, from the Midwest and as far south as Texas. It is mostly cultivated in Britain, Switzerland, Spain and Germany, and it is often grown as an ornamental plant in many gardens due to its beautiful purplish blossoms.

Echinacea flowers are a rich purple/pink, and the florets are seated around a high cone. The roots are tapering, cylindrical and slightly spiral, with a short fracture and fibrous, thin bark. It has a faint aromatic smell, with a sweetish taste, and leaves a tingling sensation in the mouth.

The constituents of Echinacea include oil and resin, both in the wood and bark, as well as caffeic acid derivatives (such as cichoric acid, echinacoside, verbascoside, chlorogenic acid and isochlorogenic acid), polysaccharides, including inulin (5.9%) and fructans, flavonoids (including rutoside, luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, apigenin and isorhamnetin), alkamides, polysaccharides, two phytosterols, fatty acids, betaine and sucrose.

The dried root, flower heads, seeds and rhizome are all harvested for medicinal use, and are made into various forms, including capsules, extracts, tinctures and tea. Echinacea purpurea has very similar medicinal properties to echinacea angustifolia.

Echinacea is a relatively recently researched medicinal herb. Historically, the Plains Indians used it as their primary medicine, applying echinacea root poultices to all types of wounds, including bites from snakes and insects. They also used it for tooth and gum pain, and drank an echinacea tea concoction to treat colds, arthritis pain, measles and smallpox. Echinacea was widely used by Native Americans, and later by colonial settlers before the 19th century. In 1870, Native Americans in Nebraska taught a doctor about the use of echinacea, who concocted his own ‘Blood Purifier’, and promoted it as an absolute cure for rattlesnake bite, blood poisoning, and a host of other illnesses. In the very early 1900’s, homeopathic physicians used echinacea as a treatment for various diseases, and by 1907, it became the most popular herb in the U.S., among both eclectic physicians and conventional doctors.

In 1910, research showed that echinacea had immune stimulating properties, such as the ability to increase white blood cell counts. Echinacea has potent antiseptic and antibiotic actions, and has been shown to increase bodily resistance to infections, viruses and diseases. It is best known for its ability to enhance overall immune function and this property makes it an excellent treatment for fighting colds and flu etc. Studies have shown it both prevents colds, and reduces the duration of existing colds and fever, and similar results were observed in studies with upper respiratory tract infections. It also has useful properties as a strong alterative and aphrodisiac.

In summary, echinacea may be beneficial for treating;