Echinacea is an herb with everything going for it. The long-lasting cone-shaped flowers enhance any garden, they make beautiful bouquets, are lovely dried and used on wreaths, are easy to grow, and probably most importantly, echinacea is one of the hottest-selling herbs in the country. And with good reason.
Echinacea, also called the Purple or Missouri Coneflower, was used for more ailments than any other herb by the Plains Indians who would suck on the root when suffering from a variety of infections, smallpox, measles, mumps, cancer, snakebites, mouth and tooth ailments and skin problems. The Souix even used the fresh root to treat rabies. Early settlers learned of echinacea's many uses from the Indians in their area and it quickly became a mainstay in the settlers' medicine cabinets.
Echinacea wasn't just used medicinally. Interestingly, tribes in the Missouri River region used the dried flowers as hair combs and Pawnee children used the dried flower stalks in a game they played.
Although echinacea has been used for centuries, there is some disagreement on how echinacea got its name. Some sources say it comes from the hedgehog - Echinus - because of its prickly center. Others say that echinacea is the Greek name for spiny urchin.
Echinacea was once classified as Rudbeckia, and you may find plant catalogs listing Echinacea purpurea as Rudbeckia purpurea. If you are going to research echinacea in some of the early herbal works, be aware that it may be listed in these as Rudbeckia as well.
Like other herbs, echinacea has gone through periods of favor and disfavor. It is currently one of the best-selling herbs on the market, and 30 years of up-to-date research has confirmed many of its traditional uses.
A member of the sunflower family, there are nine species and two varieties of echinacea indigenous to our continent. Three are commonly used medicinally - purpurea, angustifolia and pallida.
Herbalists disagree on which is the most potent medicinally, but echinacea purpurea is probably grown and used the most. All parts of the plant are utilized, although the root is considered the most potent.
Echinacea works as an alterative and an anti-microbial herb. Echinacea activates the body's immune system, allowing it to fight off a host of infections - both viral and bacterial. Use of extracts has been shown to raise white blood cell count.
Echinacea's effectiveness is not due to just one compound but to a multiplicity of compounds that work synergistically to stimulate the growth of new tissue, kill bacteria and neutralize viruses.
Echinacin, one of these substances, keeps invading bacteria from forming the hyaluronidase enzyme, an enzyme which makes cells more susceptible to infection.
It is no wonder that echinacea preparations are so popular when the fall cold and flu season hits full force. Antibiotics, which are often overprescribed, are not effective against viruses, yet about 90 percent of all flus and colds are caused by viruses, not bacteria. With the public becoming more and more disillusioned with treating acute illness with conventional medicine, it's not surprising to see so many main-stream cold and flu sufferers turning to echinacea for relief.
Echinacea is also an herb of choice for those suffering from recurrent infections. Although not a substitute for antibiotics, echinacea can help stimulate our immune systems so we can resist infections.
Echinacea combines well with other herbs to treat specific and varied conditions and has a beneficial effect on all body systems.
Herbalist David Hoffmann recommends combining it with yarrow or bearberry for cystitis, with comfrey root, marshmallow root, American cranesbill and goldenseal for duodenal ulcers, with golden rod, goldenseal and marshmallow leaf for sinus infections and with cleavers, poke root and goldenseal for problems of the lymphatic system. Mix with myrrh and oak bark and apply to the gums three times a day if you suffer from gum disease.
There is some confusion concerning the dosage of echinacea products. But most herbalists agree that echinacea will lose some of its effectiveness if taken over long periods without a break. (For daily use, garlic would be a good choice for the immune system). Some herbalists recommend taking echinacea for six weeks for a chronic condition, then taking a two-week break before beginning echinacea therapy again.
For maximum immune stimulation, some authors recommend not taking echinacea products for longer than five days. Dosage also depends on the condition you're treating. For acute infections, for example, one might take 50 drops of liquid three times daily until the infection is completely gone.
Fortunately echinacea seems to be nontoxic even at high dosages, although a few people have experienced slight nausea. Consulting a holistic practitioner is always a wise course when treating any health problem.
A word of warning: people suffering from immune system diseases including multiple sclerosis, lupus, and diabetes should not use echinacea or other immune-system stimulants. Some herbalists recommend that those with HIV-infections also avoid echinacea.
The root is the most common plant part used medicinally although the leaves and flowers also contain anti-microbial activity. I grow Echinacea purpurea, and it does well in the Deep South, although mine have not reached the five-feet tall mark that I have read about.
I collect flowers and leaves when they are at their most potent - usually June and July in Georgia - and tincture them in brandy. The roots, which range in size from the size of your little finger to the size of your thumb, can be collected in the late fall after the third or fourth year of growth.
Because the moisture content of the root is lower in the fall than in the spring, the root is apt to be more potent in autumn. Of course, potency of any herb depends a great deal on the conditions under which it is grown and can vary greatly from area to area.
Collecting roots is a bit tricky, as you don't want to harvest them before they are large enough, but if you wait too many years they become woody. Although the crown of the plant can be replanted after harvesting the root, some herbalists believe that this plant will be less potent medicinally.
I then combine the tinctured root with the tinctured leaves and flowers, so I am taking in the entire plant when I use the tincture. I have had excellent results in treating colds, flus, cuts and bites with echinacea tinctures.
In the summer, I sometimes munch a few of the leaves or flower petals. Sort of an immune-enhancing salad on the go. A word of warning: echinacea is not a particularly good-tasting herb. I have built up a tolerance over the years to strong-tasting herbs, and find many herbs palatable that once would have made me cringe.
Keeping in mind that water extracts some constituents and alcohol extracts others, you can also make a tea with echinacea, using roots, leaves and flowers or any combination of plant parts to complement your alcohol-based tincture.
Echinacea is easy to grow from seed, with purpurea considered to be the easiest. For a higher germination rate, place the seeds in moist sand in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. After four weeks, place the sand and seeds in a fine-mesh strainer and wash the sand from the seeds, being careful not to wash away the seeds as well.
You can start the seeds in pots or sow them directly into the garden. If you have a friend growing echinacea, you can ask for an offshoot from the crown when the root is harvested. You can also plant four-inch sections of the root.
A number of plant catalogs sell the plants or seeds. Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine offers seeds of echinacea purpurea, angustifolia, pallida and paradoxa. I especially like the fact that they offer organically grown seeds.
Alkaline, well-drained soil, full sun, and sufficient moisture will ensure a healthy crop. You may want to add a little lime to your soil if it is too acidic. Georgia summers are "feast or famine" when it comes to rain, and I have found that Echinacea purpurea holds its own even when rainfall is scarce.
It is especially important that those wanting to use this herb grow it themselves because it has been badly over-harvested in the wild. Greedy wildcrafters have decimated wild populations of echinacea, and hills once covered with this lovely flower have been all but stripped.
A second problem is that some harvesters are selling roots from plants such as Parthenium integrifolium as being echinacea. According to many herbalists, adulteration of echinacea with other plants is quite widespread.
The best way to ensure quality echinacea plants without further harming the wild population is to plant them in your garden.
Growing echinacea for your family's use allows you to take pleasure in growing this wonderful herb, harvest your own organically grown echinacea, prepare your own medicinals and lessen pressure on the little remaining wild echinacea.
Sources
Brown, Donald J. Phytotherapy Review & Commentary
Foster, Steven, "Echinacea Exalted!," Ozark Beneficial Plant Project, 1984, Drury, Mo.
Hoffmann, David The New Holistic Herbal , Element Inc., Rockport, Maine, 1991
Holmes, Peter,The Energetics of Western Herbs, Artemis Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1989
Keville, Kathi, The Illustrated Herb Encyclopedia, Michael Friedman Publishing Group, N.Y., 1991