Echinacea Uses and Plant Monograph
Echinacea is a beautiful, native flowering plant that has become quite popular as an herbal remedy, especially for warding off colds and the flu. However, its many benefits reach far beyond upper respiratory infections. It can be a powerful way to address infections and venomous bites and stings, and to promote lymphatic drainage.
Echinacea is endemic to North America. Before it was over-harvested, it grew abundantly throughout the eastern states and the middle of the continent. First used by many Native Americans, it later became popular among the Eclectic physicians in the late 1800s and was considered one of their most important remedies.
Types of Echinacea
There are many different species of Echinacea. The two easiest to find in commerce are Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia.
E. purpurea is easiest to grow and tends to be cheaper to buy. Medicine makers use the entire plant, including flowers, stems, leaves, and roots.
E. angustifolia is harder to grow and is therefore often more expensive to buy. Medicine makers generally use only the roots of the plant.
Some herbalists maintain that E. angustifolia root is the best material to make Echinacea products from. I feel that perspective is overly simplified and that both plants can be made into powerful herbal medicines.
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Echinacea Uses & Plant Profile Summary
Botanical Name: Echinacea angustifolia, E. purpurea, E. pallida
Other Common Names: coneflower, purple coneflower, Kansas snakeroot, hedgehog, black sampson
Family: Asteraceae
Parts Used: whole plant, flowers, roots, leaves
Energetics: cooling, drying
Taste: pungent, acrid
Plant Properties: immunomodulator, sialagogue, modulates inflammation, antimicrobial, vulnerary, lymphagogue, alterative, anti-pyretic, circulatory stimulant
Plant Uses: infected wounds, colds & flu, acne, boils, abscesses, septicemia, mouth infections, warts, venomous bites, fevers
Plant Preparations: tincture, tea, decoction, mixed with clay, mouth wash, poultice
Medicinal Properties and Energetics of Echinacea
If you taste a potent Echinacea product, or simply bite into the fresh plant (flowers, roots, stems, or leaves), you’ll experience the “Echinacea zing.” Its acrid taste is numbing on the throat and tongue while having a dispersive action throughout the body. Echinacea is therefore stimulating in nature. It stimulates immune system function, it promotes the flow of lymph to address swollen glands, and it even stimulates saliva.
Echinacea is energetically cooling in nature and is used for signs of heat, most notably with infections. Because it stimulates body secretions, it is also somewhat drying.
Echinacea is what herbalists call an “alterative” herb, which broadly means to alter or move someone towards health. Alterative herbs support systems of detoxification (e.g., lungs, skin, lymph) to assist the body in removing metabolic waste. Herbalist jim mcdonald likens this term to cleaning out the ash and soot built up in a wood stove. Once that buildup is removed, the stove works more efficiently.
The Eclectics were physician-herbalists who were a part of mainstream medicine in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Once Echinacea was brought into use within the Eclectic literature, it quickly gained hold to be one of their favorite remedies. Eclectics considered Echinacea, above all, to be an alterative.
“[Echinacea] is an alterative, exerting an influence over the secretory and lymphatic functions, which is unsurpassed by few, if any other of the known alteratives.”
- King’s American Dispensatory, 1898
Echinacea for Infections
While Echinacea is most popular today for its ability to help with colds and the flu, where Echinacea really shines is in its ability to help the body fight off infections.
One of my favorite ways to use Echinacea is for people with recurring boils, acne, or other type of skin abscess. For best results, use the herb both internally and externally. An in vitro study concluded that an Echinacea product “could provide a safe two-fold benefit to acne individuals by inhibiting proliferation of the organism and reversing the bacterial-induced inflammation.”1
Long known as the toothache plant, Echinacea tea or diluted tincture can be swished in the mouth frequently to address tooth infections or ulcerations of the oral mucous membranes. A pilot study showed that an oral patch containing Echinacea purpurea, Gotu kola (Centella asiatica), and Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) was effective in reducing inflammation associated with gingivitis.2
Herbalists regularly use Echinacea as part of a formula for addressing urinary tract infections.
Infected wounds and scrapes also do well with Echinacea, again using the herb both internally and externally.
Eclectic herbalists used Echinacea for many other types of infections including syphilis, chronic leg ulcers, gonorrhea, rabid dog bites, and septicemia (blood-level infection).3
Echinacea for Venomous Bites and Stings
The first popularized use of Echinacea for the Eclectic Herbalists was for rattlesnake bites. We can trace this story back to the self-described doctor, H.C.F. Meyer.
Historical references say that Dr. Meyer had learned about using Echinacea for snake bites from a Native American woman. He then experimented with it for a number of years before going to Dr. John King and John Uri Lloyd with his findings. He claimed he had treated many cases of rattlesnake bites in animals and humans using his special blend of herbs (Echinacea, hops, and wormwood). At first he was brushed aside for making such outrageous claims.
Dr. Meyer offered to send Dr. King an eight-foot rattlesnake so that he could experiment with treating animals who had been bitten. Dr. King declined. Dr. Meyer then offered to travel to Dr. King and allow himself to be bitten by the snake to prove the efficacy of his herbs in person. Dr. King again declined, but the persistence of Dr. Meyer inspired him to take a closer look at this plant.4
Although Dr. Meyer didn’t get bit by the rattlesnake in Dr. King’s presence, there are reports of him willingly submitting to this venomous reptile in order to prove his remedy’s effectiveness. In 1919, Eclectic physician Finley Ellingwood reported that Dr. Meyer willingly injected himself with the venom of a rattlesnake on his right hand. After six hours, significant swelling had reached his elbow. He then dosed himself with his blend of herbs, taking them both internally and externally, went to sleep, and woke up four hours later to find the pain and swelling was gone.5
We now know that Echinacea works by inhibiting hyaluronidase, the enzyme found in rattlesnake bites which causes body tissues to “melt” and be damaged. In this day and age, if you are hiking through rattlesnake country, certainly take your Echinacea tincture along for the ride. If you happen to get bitten by a venomous snake, take your Echinacea tincture liberally (1-2 ounces) on your way to the emergency room to get the antivenin.
In addition to rattlesnakes, Eclectic physicians also used Echinacea for spider bites, wasp bites, bee stings, and scorpion stings, all of which contain the flesh-dissolving enzyme hyaluronidase.6
“For twenty to twenty-five years, Echinacea has been passing through the stages of critical experimentation under the observation of several thousand physicians, and its remarkable properties are receiving positive confirmation… All who use it correctly fall quickly into line as enthusiasts in its praise.”
- Finley Ellingwood, American Materia Medica, 1919
Echinacea for Colds and the Flu
Today Echinacea is one of the most popular herbs in mainstream culture. It is especially known and used for warding off colds or the flu, which is a more recent application of this herb. Many studies have been done regarding Echinacea and upper respiratory infections and there are mixed results. A look at the negative results often indicates a problem with the design of the study such as incorrect dosage or incorrect frequency of dosage. Like many herbal medicines, Echinacea must be taken frequently and in adequate doses to help with acute conditions like the onset of a cold or the flu.
One meta-analysis of several studies concluded that “Evidence indicates that Echinacea potently lowers the risk of recurrent respiratory infections and complications thereof. Immune modulatory, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects might contribute to the observed clinical benefits, which appear strongest in susceptible individuals.”7
Another recent study showed that a patent formula of Echinacea purpurea was just as effective as a commonly prescribed influenza pharmaceutical drug, plus, those taking the herbal formula had fewer side effects.8
Echinacea has long been used for sore throats, by Native Americans, Eclectic physicians, and modern day herbalists. In this case, a throat spray or other direct application is best. In vitro studies have shown that Echinacea purpurea is active against the bacteria that causes Strep throat (Streptococcus pyogenes).9
Another powerful effect of Echinacea during a cold or flu is for the reduction of swollen lymph glands (lymphagogue action). Eclectic physicians also used Echinacea to support the fever process for a variety of febrile conditions such as typhoid and malaria.
How Does Echinacea Work?
Echinacea undoubtedly works in a myriad of ways that we are only beginning to comprehend. Modern science has been able to figure out a few of the miraculous ways of this incredible plant.
One way that Echinacea works is to increase phagocytosis. Phagocytosis means “to devour.” It is an immune system response that involves phagocytes engulfing and destroying of microorganisms, as well as damaged or old cells and other cellular waste. Phagocytosis is a major way that the immune system removes various pathogens, bacteria, and cellular debris.
Botanically Speaking
There are nine species in the Echinacea genus and all are herbaceous perennial plants found in eastern and central North America. Echinacea plants have recently been hybridized into cultivars for gardeners.
Echinacea angustifolia and E. purpurea are the most commonly used species for medicine. Occasionally you may also find E. pallida in commerce. For this botanical exploration we’ll look at E. angustifolia and E. purpurea.
The term for the genus “Echinacea” is derived from the Greek word meaning hedgehog or sea urchin and refers to the center cone of the flower.
How to Use Echinacea
Chances are that most of you probably won’t be using herbs to combat typhoid, malaria, rattlesnake bites, or infected dog bites.
However, there are lots of indications for Echinacea that can help us with common conditions. Keep in mind that Echinacea is energetically cooling and drying and is specific for signs of heat, ulcerations, and infected tissues.
There are a couple of considerations when dosing Echinacea. One, if you are dealing with skin conditions – such as bug bites, wounds, acne, or boils – then it’s most effective when applied externally as well as taken internally. I personally like to take the tincture internally while applying a fomentation, basically a cloth soaked in a warm decoction of the root. You can also dilute the tincture for external use.
Secondly, consider how often you dose Echinacea. Eclectics used Echinacea in frequent, small doses, the exact amount and frequency varying by the practitioner. When dealing with an acute condition, such as a cold or flu, taking 30-60 drops three times a day is not ideal. Echinacea is better taken every hour or every couple hours.
Dosage Suggestions
- Tincture: 1:2 fresh plant, 50% alcohol, 3-5 mL10
- Tea or powder: Up to 3 grams daily 11
Special Considerations
You do not need to stop taking Echinacea after a certain number of days. This once popular belief came about from a misinterpreted German study. Echinacea has a very good safety profile and can be taken as needed for as long as needed.
Echinacea is considered safe for pregnancy and during breastfeeding.
For people experiencing frequent colds and the flu, avoid using Echinacea as a prop for a weakened immune system. Instead, consider therapies to build up the health of the immune system, such as rest, a nutrient-dense diet, regular exercise, joyful experiences, and tonic immune-building herbs like Astragalus or medicinal mushrooms.
There is conflicting evidence that Echinacea may adversely affect people with autoimmune conditions. If you have an autoimmune condition it will be safest to avoid this herb or to consult an herbalist to assess your individualized needs.
The Future of Echinacea
The widespread use of Echinacea during the time of the Eclectics as well as the current market in North America and Europe has led to this plant’s demise in the wild. Never buy wildcrafted Echinacea. There is no longer a way for anyone to wildcraft this plant sustainably. Instead, consider growing this beautiful plant in your own garden or purchase products made from organic cultivated sources. And if you live in this plant’s natural habitat, spread the seeds during your walks.
“Under the older classification of remedies, Echinacea would probably be classified as an antiseptic and alterative. Strictly speaking, it is practically impossible to classify an agent like Echinacea by applying to it one or two words to indicate its virtues. The day is rapidly approaching when these qualifying terms will have no place in medicine, for they but inadequately convey to our minds the therapeutic possibilities of our drugs.”
- King’s American Dispensatory, 1898
Footnotes
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