How Echinacea - Echinacea Angustifolia is Used as a Medicinal Herb

Other Common Names: Black Sampson, Black Sampson Coneflower, Blacksamson, Blacksamson Echinacea, Coneflower, Narrow-leaved, E Angustifolia, Var Angustifolia, Echinacea Angustifolia, Black Sampson, Kansas Snakeroot, Kansas Snakeroot, Narrowleaf Coneflower, Narrowleaved Coneflower, Narrowleaved Purple Coneflower, Niggerhead, Purple Coneflower, Roter Sonnenhut, Rudbeckia, Rudbeckie Rouge, Snakeroot, Kansas, Zonnehoed, Echinacea angustifolia

Range: N. America - Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota south to Texas; France; Germany; Netherlands; Turkey

Habitat: Dry prairies and barrens.

Echinacea are herbaceous perennials of the daisy family. Echinacea may have either simple or branched stems. The flowers are large and daisy-like and are sometimes known as coneflowers because of the raised capitulum containing disc florets to which are attached ray florets. It has a faint aromatic smell, with a sweetish taste, leaving a tingling sensation in the mouth not unlike Aconitum napellus, but without its lasting numbing effect. Of the nine Echinacea species, E. angustifolia, E. purpurea, and E. pallida are the most commonly used. All are used to boost the immune system and fight infections, but only the purpurea and pallida varieties have been definitively proven effective. In general, the medicinal effects of the leaves are better documented than the effects of the roots.

Echinacea is one of the world's most important medicinal herbs. Echinacea is an extremely popular herbal supplement; sales are nearly $300 million a year according to the last figures available.

The genus Echinacea is native to the North American prairies. Nearly all parts of the plant are used for therapeutic preparations including the root, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Echinacea products may be derived from cultivated or wild stocks. Echinacea was widely used by the Plains Indians of North America for a variety of purposes including treatment of snake bite and relief of fever. From 1887, the plant was incorporated into a variety of patent medicines and by the 1920s echinacea was the largest selling patent medicine in North America. Plants in this genus were probably the most frequently used of all North American Indian herbal remedies. They had a very wide range of applications and many of these uses have been confirmed by modern science. The plant has a general stimulatory effect on the immune system and is widely used in modern herbal treatments.

Echinacea was included in the National Formulary of the United States from 1916 to 1950; however, after years of debate over its effectiveness, use declined in the 1930s. As interest in echinacea waned in North America it increased in Europe. A German firm (Madaus) imported E. purpurea seeds from the US and this species is the subject of almost all research on the genus conducted in Europe over the last fifty years. Today, more than 280 echinacea-containing products are manufactured in Germany alone.

Research shows that it has the ability to raise the body's resistance to bacterial and viral infections by stimulating the immune system. It is also antibiotic and helps to relieve allergies. Echinacea is regarded as effective in treating certain viral and bacterial infections as well as wounds and inflammation, while stimulating the immune system. Its ability to potentiate the immune system and to reduce inflammation provide the basis for many of its suggested uses including treatment of colds, coughs, flu, other upper respiratory infections, enlarged lymph glands, sore throat, urinary tract infections, herpes and candida, wounds, skin infections, eczema and psoriasis (Herb Research Foundation (1997) Herb Information Greenpaper. Echinacea).

There has been some doubt over the ability of the body to absorb the medicinally active ingredients orally (intravenous injections being considered the only effective way to administer the plant), but recent research has demonstrated significant absorption from orally administered applications. In Germany over 200 pharmaceutical preparations are made from Echinacea. The roots and the whole plant are considered particularly beneficial in the treatment of sores, wounds, burns etc, possessing cortisone-like and antibacterial activity. The plant was used by North American Indians as a universal application to treat the bites and stings of all types of insects. An infusion of the plant was also used to treat snakebites.



The root is adaptogen, alterative, antiseptic, depurative, digestive, sialagogue. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. The plant has been used as a diaphoretic.

The root and/or herb may be brewed as a tea.

No epidemiological studies or case reports investigating the association of exposure to echinacea and cancer risks in humans were identified in the available literature.

There have been no reports of serious adverse effects associated with the administration of echinacea. Occasionally the injection of echinacea extracts has resulted in a feverish reaction. Skin rashes and insomnia have also been reported. Due to cross hyper-sensitivity, echinacea should not be taken by persons allergic to flowers of the daisy family. Echinacea is contraindicated in individuals with autoimmune illnesses and other progressive systemic diseases such as tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, and HIV infection and AIDS related illnesses.

- Brown, D.J. (1996) Phytotherapy: Herbal medicine meets clinical science. NARD J., 118, 41-52