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Benefits |
Preparation |
Medicinal Uses |
Side Effects |
Plant |
Folklore |
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| Common Names |
| Echinacea , Purple coneflower |
| Botanical Name |
| Echinacea angustifolia |
| Family |
| ASTERACEAE or COMPOSITAE Sunflower family |
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Related Species |
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Echinacea purpurea , E. purpura, E. pallida |
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Herbalists do not agree on which species is best, E.purpurea,, E. pallida, or E.angustifolia, but all variants have phytochemicals that improve the immune system. There are dozens of dozens of biochemical compounds that act in therapeutic synergy in this complex plant that support disease resistance in several ways. However, taking echinacea when a cold or infection has already become serious may be fighting a losing battle. Echinacea is most effect when taken at the first onset of cold or infection symptoms. When fighting an established virus, combining echinacea with antiseptic herbs such as goldenseal or Oregon grape will enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. |
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Prep Methods :Dosage is key. You need to take enough echinacea, and take it frequently enough, to do any good. Capsules are convenient, but not as efficient, and quite often not as potent as tinctures. Echinacea is by no means a good tasting herb for tea, but echinacea tea can be used in compresses and poultices for external applications.
 Remedies using Echinacea
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 To support the immune system, Echinacea tincture (30 to 100 drops three to five times a day) or tea (3 to 4 cups a day) is very beneficial. | | Stop pet acne from the inside out with this infection-battling herb. Give 1/2 the human dose to a large dog, 1/4 dose to a smaller dog. Check with your vet first, some cats may have problems digesting it. |
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| Immune stimulant | | Echinacea is a vey potent immune system stimulant, a decent fighter of inflammation and viruses, and a mild antiseptic. 373
(Duke, James A, Ph.D. ) | | Colds, cold sores | | Echinacea is another herb that inhibits herpes viruses, echinacea also produces a numbing sensation that may offer relief from cold-sore pain. 626
(White,Linda B., M.D. ) | | Bites and stings | | A tincture of this immune-boosting herb can be applied to a bite or sting to numb the pain. It also helps disinfect the site of the attack. 1133
(White,Linda B., M.D. ) | | Antiseptic, immune response | | Echinacea increases bodily resistance to infection and is used for boils, erysipelas, septicaemia, cancer, syphilis and other impurities of the blood, its action being antiseptic.
1262
(Grieve, Maude ) | | Sinusitis | | Echinacea is an excellent remedy for tonsillitis, inflamed gums, and for mucus in the nose, sinuses, lungs, and digestive tract 1263
(Mabey, Richard p45) | | Itching hives, bites | | A wash of purple coneflower can help relieve the unbearable itching of urticaria (hives) and this treatment is also good for stings and bites. 1264
(Mabey, Richard ) |
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| Side Effects: |
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| Use with caution if you are allergic to ragweed |
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 Nine species of Echinacea grow perennially throughout midwestern North America from Saskatchewan to as far south as Texas. The three species most used and studied are E.purpurea, E. pallida, and E.angustifolia. They are hard to tell apart, all have pretty purple flowers except for E. paradoxa, whose flowers are yellow.
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 North American Indians passed the knowledge of the purple coneflower on to the colonists and settlers of North America. Echinacea became a famed remedy for snake bite and for cleansing and healing suppurating wounds. |
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Annies Remedys, echinaca, augustifolia
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