Echinacea News and Research

RSS

Prenatal toxicity linked to immune dysfunctions in later life

A Cornell researcher and his wife have conducted the first comprehensive review of later-life diseases that develop in people who were exposed to environmental toxins or drugs either in the womb or as infants.

4 May 2007

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

St. John's wort and Echinacea, two widely-used herbal preparations, have been found to increase activity of a specific enzyme in the liver and intestine, an enzyme involved in the metabolization of roughly one in every four pharmaceutical drugs on the market today, reports a clinical pharmacologist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2006

Children who are open to experimenting with herbal products may be more open to trying illicit drugs

Adolescents who have ever used herbal products are six times more likely to have tried cocaine and almost 15 times more likely to have used anabolic steroids than teens who have never used herbal products

23 Mar 2006

Ethnicity the most important personal characteristic in predicting complementary medicine use

A survey of older adults in rural North Carolina shows that they widely use complementary medicine therapies, but tend to focus on folk or home remedies, such as taking a daily "tonic" of vinegar or using Epsom salts.

1 Mar 2006

Herbal supplements and plastic surgery don't mix well

Natural herbal supplements are supposed to help boost our immune systems, give us more energy and make us generally healthier.

14 Feb 2006

Herbs popular in treating kids at WIC clinics

Nearly half of the low income, nutritionally-vulnerable Latino children surveyed by Penn State researchers in WIC clinics were treated with herbs by their caregivers for common ills such as diaper rash, colic, teething symptoms, stomachaches, coughs and colds.

12 Feb 2006

Echinacea can treat, but not prevent, common colds

Nine of 16 trials found that extracts from the aerial parts of the plant Echinacea purpurea could reduce the symptoms of colds in adults if started early enough.

25 Jan 2006

Echinacea little use in relieving colds

According to a new study by the University of Virginia School of Medicine, taking the the herbal remedy Echinacea, to relieve the symptoms of the common cold, is a waste of time and offers no more relief than a placebo.

28 Jul 2005

Herbal remedies and arthritis drugs can be a potentially dangerous mix

Herbal remedies and arthritis drugs can be a potentially dangerous mix, but it's not only patients who are ill informed about the risks, healthcare professionals are too, suggests a survey, reported in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

19 Apr 2005

Use of herbal supplements in women is increasing

The use of herbal supplements in women is increasing. Many mothers may also be giving herbal supplements to their children to treat or prevent various illnesses, including asthma, hyperactivity, colds, and respiratory infections.

8 Mar 2005

Herbal, nutritional supplements linked to side effects ranging from dry eye to retinal hemorrhages and transient visual loss

An estimated 42 percent of Americans use herbal medicines or nutritional supplements. Many people taking these products and their physicians are unaware of the adverse reactions they can cause.

13 Oct 2004

Herbals, surgery and anesthesia don't always mix

The woman who swears by gingko biloba wonders why her mouth won't stop bleeding after wisdom tooth surgery. What she doesn't know is that the herbal remedy she takes religiously to enhance mental alertness also acts as a powerful blood thinner that inhibits clotting.

10 Sep 2004

80% of cancer patients use some form of complementary or alternative therapies

Plug the terms "alternative" and "cancer" into Google and the Internet search engine returns a list of 3.27 million - yes, million - sites with information both credible and questionable about nontraditional treatments for cancer. What's a cancer patient to make of such a vast array of options?

18 Aug 2004

Drug interactions between prescription medication and herbal supplements can be extremely dangerous

Herbal supplements may be natural, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are safe.

11 Aug 2004

Echinacea may do nothing for that runny nose

Some think echinacea is nothing to sneeze at. Others aren't convinced of the claims that the herb can fight the common cold. A study in the May 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online, adds to the evidence against the herb's alleged powers: In the study, echinacea did not prevent a common cold virus from infecting volunteers.

15 Jun 2004