Sioux Herb Confirmed as Shield Against Colds

by Sreeraman on  June 25, 2007 at 6:32 PM Alternative Medicine News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
Sioux Herb Confirmed as Shield Against Colds
Echinacea, a medicinal herb that came to prominence thanks to its use by Sioux Indians, can more than halve the risk of catching a cold, a wide-scale study has confirmed.

Taking echinacea supplements can reduce the risk of a cold by 58 percent and may also shorten the duration of a cold almost one and a half days, according to the paper, published on Sunday in the July issue of the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The study is a "meta-analysis" comparing the outcome of 14 published trials using echinacea.

One of the trials combined with echinacea with vitamin C, which showed the two together reduced the incidence of a cold by 86 percent.

The analysis was led by University of Connecticut pharmacist Craig Coleman.

Echinacea is a term for nine related daisy-like plant species that are native to North America and feature in the traditional medicine of the Sioux and other Plains Indians as remedies for infection, snakebites and rabies.

Other names for the plant are black sampson, Kansas snakeroot and purple coneflower.

Coleman's team said they had counted more than 800 products containing echinacea, which come in the form of tablets, extracts, fresh juice, tincture and tea.

Three of the nine species are commonly used (Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifolia and E. pallida), and different parts of the plant are used for different products.

The authors say it is still unclear how echinacea appears to stimulate the immune system against the cold virus.

Page 1 Page 1 | 2  Next
 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X

Medwonders Health Network

  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
News Categories:  
Teen's Health Center

Alternative Medicine Related News

» Chinese Herb May Curb Binge Drinking, Treat Alcoholism » Acupuncture and Progress In People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Appear To Be Linked
» Expert Says Alternative Medicines Potentially Unsafe » Acupuncture and Hypnosis may Help You Kick the Butt
» PAPupuncture can Provide Long Lasting Pain Relief » Acupuncture Improves Skeletal Muscle Atrophy
» Better Health, Mobility, Self-esteem for Wheelchair Tai Chi Practitioners » 'Toxic Ingredients' in Traditional Chinese Medicines Exposed
Read More >>