Purple Reign: the power of Echinacea

Dr Rory Hafford takes a personal look at the healing power of Echinacea

I once harvested the Echinacea plant in Switzerland. I was there as an invited guest of the A Vogel organisation. The thing I remember most about the week-long experience was the beautiful shape, smell and colour of this magical medicinal herb. The sun was mighty. The craic was 90. And the company was fantastic. But, curiously, it was the plant itself that left the biggest impression on me.

Around the same time every year you will hear the name Echinacea mentioned. Usually it’s when the flu season begins to bite. And people are shuffling and sniffling their way to their GP. Lamenting their lot. And longing to curl up in their bed. The unfortunate medic can do little more than suggest that they ‘take it easy’, or ‘try to stay out of the cold’. But we have become conditioned. And when we go to our GP the very least we expect is a pill.

Traditionally, antibiotics are prescribed. Why? No one knows for sure. Maybe it’s an associated response: trip to GP = pill. Maybe the doctors themselves feel that they have to give the patient something when, in reality, nothing might be the best thing to prescribe! Antibiotics are useless against the flu virus.

When a virus invades a cell it’s a bit like an attack by an army of hood-wearing Ninjas! They come cloaked and disguised. The body can’t recognise the invader. Once it’s inside, the virus takes the cell hostage and demands to be flown somewhere warm! The by now all-conquering virus has begun to dismantle the cell's scaffolding and engages in a re-building job, with itself as the central plank. In essence, the entire shape of the cell is changed and it is precisely this that makes the ever-changing virus so difficult to pin down.

As with most things that fall into the category of ‘complementary’ health, Echinacea needs to prove itself to the evidence-based brigade. And rightly so. If you put something into the body with potential curative or harmful powers, you need to be sure of what you are doing. Our health is the greatest gift we have. Nobody or nothing should be allowed mess with that.

The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy has done us a big favour in this regard. Researchers have combined the results of 14 different studies on Echinacea and the way it fights off the flu virus (in pharmaceutical terms, this is a small number of trials but it still has merit). Here’s what they found: the way Echinacea works is by stimulating a process known as phagocytosis, a fancy scientific word for gobbling up invaders! When Echinacea was taken along with vitamin C it successfully chased off cold and flu symptoms in as many as 86 percent of cases. This, in anybody’s language, is impressive.

One word of warning. The effectiveness of Echinacea is dependent on two main factors: timing and type. The earlier you use Echinacea the better. So, when you feel your symptoms beginning, let loose the herb. The second thing is the type of Echinacea you use. There are three varieties: Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea angustifolia. Get along to your health food store for guidance