The herbal remedy echinacea, believed by many to cure colds, is no better than a placebo in relieving the symptoms or shortening the duration of illness.
The herbal remedy echinacea, believed by many to cure colds, is no better than a placebo in relieving the symptoms or shortening the duration of illness.
Echinacea, a wild flower (also known as the purple coneflower), is widely used to treat the common cold. Dried echinacea root has been used in homemade remedies such as teas, dried herb and liquid extracts and the supplement is sold in capsule form.
To assess the potential benefits of echinacea as a treatment of common cold, researchers randomly assigned 719 American with very early symptoms of a cold to no treatment, to a pill they knew was echinacea, or to a pill that could either be a placebo or echinacea, but they were not told which. The participants ranged from 12 to 80 years of age.
People in the study reported their symptoms twice a day for upto two weeks. Among those receiving echinacea, symptoms subsided seven to 10 hours sooner than those receiving placebo or no treatment. However, this slight decrease in the duration of their colds was not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant difference in the severity of symptoms between the groups.
Although this study did not show that echinacea made much of a difference in fighting colds, the study was limited by its size and method of reporting results. While the study did not provide evidence that echinacea is the cure for the common cold, the evidence suggests that echinacea use should be guided by personal health values. As there were no side effects seen, there is no reason that cold sufferers should stop using echinacea if they think it helps them.
Echinacea, a wild flower (also known as the purple coneflower), is widely used to treat the common cold. Dried echinacea root has been used in homemade remedies such as teas, dried herb and liquid extracts and the supplement is sold in capsule form.
To assess the potential benefits of echinacea as a treatment of common cold, researchers randomly assigned 719 American with very early symptoms of a cold to no treatment, to a pill they knew was echinacea, or to a pill that could either be a placebo or echinacea, but they were not told which. The participants ranged from 12 to 80 years of age.
People in the study reported their symptoms twice a day for upto two weeks. Among those receiving echinacea, symptoms subsided seven to 10 hours sooner than those receiving placebo or no treatment. However, this slight decrease in the duration of their colds was not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant difference in the severity of symptoms between the groups.
Although this study did not show that echinacea made much of a difference in fighting colds, the study was limited by its size and method of reporting results. While the study did not provide evidence that echinacea is the cure for the common cold, the evidence suggests that echinacea use should be guided by personal health values. As there were no side effects seen, there is no reason that cold sufferers should stop using echinacea if they think it helps them.
DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.
