Plants that boost immunity are a crucial part of a medical herbalist’s treatment plan and echinacea is one of those few herbs that no herbalist would want to be without. There’s a good reason why. Increasingly, the benefits of this pretty plant, also known as Purple Coneflower, are becoming clear.

Originally, Echinacea was used by the Native American Indians. It grew on the Prairie and was used specifically for rattlesnake bites. The Indians made it clear to the Colonists that if they wanted to survive a rattlesnake bite, they should learn to identify this plant. Alfred Vogel, studying the medicine systems of the Native American, discovered echinacea and bought it back to Europe, where he used it to excellent effect to boost the immune system in a wide range of ailments.

Since then there have been extensive studies on echinacea, exploring its many actions. It has been shown to be antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory. It has even been used in long-term studies on victims of the Chernobyl disaster, improving the general function of their immune systems. For one thing, it contains echinacoside (a natural antibiotic, comparable to penicillin in effect) that can kill a broad range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which makes it invaluable in wound healing and the treatment of infectious diseases. Research has also reported echinacea’s efficacy in treating colds, flu, bronchitis, tuberculosis, infections, etc.

Echinacea contains echinacein, a biochemical that protects against germ attack by neutralising the tissue dissolving enzyme, hyaluronidase, produced by many germs. Other studies show that echinacea contains substances that boost the ability of your body’s macrophages (from the Greek to mean ‘big eaters’) to engulf and digest germs. Further studies from the University of Munich have shown that echinacea boosts T-cell production by as much as 30% more than other immune boosting drugs. Despite all this research some have continued to doubt if echinacea really is all that effective at combating the common cold, but at long last it seems that scientists have finally come to the conclusion that it definitely does work.

In June 2007 an American team reviewed 14 studies and published their results in Lancet Infectious Diseases. The review, which combines the results of 14 previous studies, should finally give the seal of approval to the remedy. Doubts over its efficacy led Dr Craig Coleman and colleagues at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy to analyse clinical trials using echinacea for prevention or treatment of colds. They found it cut the chances of catching a cold by 58 per cent on average, including studies where volunteers were exposed to cold viruses under laboratory conditions. It was even more effective when used in real life natural settings, cutting the risk by 65 per cent. Overall, it cut the duration of a cold by 1.4 days among those using it as a treatment.

The length of time for which it was used ranged from a few days to several weeks. Only one of the studies combined echinacea with vitamin C, which showed the two together reduced the incidence of colds by 86 per cent. But the researchers could not definitely conclude whether the two supplements combined are more effective than echinacea alone.

So how does echinacea help us fight colds and flu as winter draws in?

Echinacea can help ward of winter colds by increasing the effectiveness with which your immune system recognises and deals with the bacteria and viruses that enter your body, preventing them from triggering an illness.

The anti-viral action of echinacea is one of its most exciting aspects, making it an ideal remedy for flu. Flu viruses tend to mutate very quickly, and the traditional medical response has often been antibiotics, which fight bacteria rather than viruses. Over-exposure to antibiotics has caused an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria but using echinacea to fight off a cold builds the immune system’s response to any virus, not just the challenge presented by this year’s virus. In other words, you’re less likely to catch the next bug doing the rounds.

Being anti-bacterial as well, it will also deal with any bacterial infections that complicate the disease picture. In addition, you can’t become resistant to echinacea in the same way that you can to antibiotics.

To sum up: Research has suggested that echinacea can boost immunity and help defeat colds and upper respiratory tract infections, as well as ‘flu. It is also anti-inflammatory, which makes it particularly effective against unpleasant winter sore throats, swollen glands and earache. With its ability to clear unfriendly micro-organisms from the system echinacea is also helpful to those whose asthma worsens in the cold weather.

Given the amount of evidence to suggest Echinacea’s immune boosting powers, without unpleasant or unsafe after effects, in my opinion it may be one of the best ways to build your defence against winter disease and whatever the chilly winds and rain throw down on you!

Directions for use: There are three common species of echinacea recognised for their medicinal value. These are the flower, stem and root of Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea purpurea, with the latter most often used in herbal remedies bought over the counter.

Echinacea is available in capsules, tinctures or as tea (not the most pleasant tasting). Tinctures are probably best for respiratory infections. For a sore throat, gargle with a dropperful (straight or diluted) and then swallow it. (Click here for vitamin C).

According to recent research drinking apple juice could halve the risk of developing asthma. Eating a banana can cut the risk by a third, according to the same researchers, but consuming whole apples appears to have no affect.

The researchers believe that the steady rise of asthma could be linked to increased consumption of fast foods and decreased consumption of natural, fresh foods. The latest study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, in June 20007, looked at almost 2,700 primary school children and found those drinking apple juice at least once a day were 50 per cent less likely to develop asthma symptoms. Researchers led by Professor Peter Burney at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, were surprised a glass of apple juice a day was more protective-than eating apples – or any other fruit other than bananas. They believe the health benefits may be dose related because the children drink more of the content from apples through juice rather than by eating the fruit.

A Greek study has found children who eat a Mediterranean diet full of fruit, vegetables and nuts are less likely to develop asthma and allergies.

Just breathe: Breathing deeply could help asthma suffers, according to new research fro the University Of Sydney, Australia.

The study was conducted on 57 asthma patients who were taught either how to do shallow nasal breathing with slow exhalations or to inhale and exhale in time with upper body movements or whenever they felt an attack coming on. After three months, use of inhalers in both groups had fallen by an incredible 86%.