Herbal extracts of Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) are very popular for treating a common cold. It is unclear how much benefit there is from taking such preparations. In a randomized US study involving more than 700 patients aged between 12 and 80 years with an incipient cold, the extract proved to be useless, as reported in the current February issue of Medizin Report.



Patients in the two echinacea groups (open and blind) took ten grams of dry echinacea extract within 24 hours of the onset of the infection and five grams on each of the following four days. Compared to the two placebo groups, the difference in the duration of illness was not relevant: 6.3 and 6.8 days in the echinacea groups compared to 6.9 and 7.0 days in the placebo groups. The difference of about half a day was not significant (p=0.075). There was also no difference in inflammation markers.



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