Purple Coneflower
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Echinacea purpurea, also called Purple Coneflower, is one of the most widely cultivated medicinal plants in the US (Ross, 2016) and Europe (Barrett, 2003). It is a tall perennial member of the Composite family indigenous to eastern and central North America. This plant is used to treat common diseases, such as colds, flu, and upper respiratory infections (Ross, 2016). Modern analyses of the Echinacea genus have suggested it may have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties (Sharifi-Rad et al., 2018). However, studies examining the effectiveness of Echinacea purpurea in preventing or treating the common cold have had mixed results (Grimm & Müller, 1999; Ross, 2016) and the most recent systematic review failed to find any statistically significant benefit to the treatment (Karsch-Völk et al., 2014). It is generally considered non or only very slightly toxic (Sharifi-Rad et al., 2018).
Historical Use
Given that Purple Coneflower is native to such a wide swath of North America, it should come as no surprise that the earliest knowledge of its medicinal properties was attained by Native Americans. The Choctaw used Echinacea purpurea for treating coughs, stomach upset, and sore throats (Flannery, 1999). The Sioux used it for treating wounds and snakebite and as a cure for rabies (Ross, 2016). The Cheyenne used preparations to treat colds and skin conditions (Flannery, 1999). Early settlers to the Midwest also used Echinacea to treat saddle sores on horses (Flannery, 1999).
More information available from the John R. Martin Rare Book Room in Hardin Library.
Latest Research
- Antiviral activity of medicinal plant-derived products against SARS-CoV-2by Jonatas Rafael de Oliveira on July 27, 2022 at 10:00 am
This review presents information from several studies that have demonstrated the antiviral activity of extracts (Andrographis paniculata, Artemisia annua, Artemisia afra, Cannabis sativa, Curcuma longa, Echinacea purpurea, Olea europaea, Piper nigrum, and Punica granatum) and phytocompounds derived from medicinal plants (artemisinins, glycyrrhizin, and phenolic compounds) against SARS-CoV-2. A brief background of the plant products studied, the methodology used to evaluate the antiviral…
- Neuroprotection of chicoric acid in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease involves gut microbiota and TLR4 signaling pathwayby Ning Wang on February 1, 2022 at 11:00 am
Chicoric acid (CA), a polyphenolic acid obtained from chicory and purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), has been regarded as a nutraceutical to combat inflammation, viruses and obesity. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder, and the microbiota-gut-brain axis might be the potential mechanism in the pathogenesis and development of PD. The results obtained in this study demonstrated that oral pretreatments of CA significantly prevented the…
- Increasing medicinal and phytochemical compounds of coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L.) as affected by NO3–/NH4+ ratio and perlite particle size in hydroponicsby Fatemeh Ahmadi on July 27, 2021 at 10:00 am
Medicinal plants are considered as one of the most important sources of chemical compounds, so preparing a suitable culture media for medicinal plant growth is a critical factor. The present study is aimed to improve the caffeic acid derivatives and alkylamides percentages of Echinacea purpurea root extract in hydroponic culture media with different perlite particle size and NO(3)^(-)/NH(4)^(+) ratios. Perlite particle size in the growing media was varied as very coarse perlite (more than 2 mm),…
- Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench treatment of monocytes promotes tonic interferon signaling, increased innate immunity gene expression and DNA repeat hypermethylated silencing of endogenous retroviral sequencesby Ken Declerck on May 13, 2021 at 10:00 am
CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our results suggest that Echinaforce® phytochemicals strengthen antiviral innate immunity through tonic IFN regulation of pattern recognition and chemokine gene expression and DNA repeat hypermethylated silencing of HERVs in monocytes. These results suggest that immunomodulation by Echinaforce® treatment holds promise to reduce symptoms and duration of infection episodes of common cold corona viruses (CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV, and new occurring…
- Comparison of Maceration and Ultrasonication for Green Extraction of Phenolic Acids from Echinacea purpurea Aerial Partsby Plamen Momchev on November 10, 2020 at 11:00 am
Echinacea purpurea is used in herbal medicinal products for the prevention and treatment of the common cold, as well as for skin disorders and minor wounds. In this study, the efficiency of traditional maceration using water and ethanol was compared with the maceration using mixtures of water and glycerol, a non-toxic, biodegradable solvent from renewable sources. It was found that the glycerol-water mixtures were as effective as ethanol/water mixtures for the extraction of caffeic acid…
References
Barrett, B. (2003). Medicinal properties of Echinacea: a critical review. Phytomedicine, 10(1), 66-86. doi:10.1078/094471103321648692
Flannery, M. A. (1999). From Rudbeckia to Echinacea: The Emergence of the Purple Cone Flower in Modern Therapeutics. Pharmacy in History, 41(2), 52-59. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41111931
Grimm, W., & Müller, H. H. (1999). A randomized controlled trial of the effect of fluid extract of Echinacea purpurea on the incidence and severity of colds and respiratory infections. Am J Med, 106(2), 138-143. doi:10.1016/s0002-9343(98)00406-9
Karsch-Völk, M., Barrett, B., Kiefer, D., Bauer, R., Ardjomand-Woelkart, K., & Linde, K. (2014). Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2(2), Cd000530. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000530.pub3
Ross, S. M. (2016). Echinacea purpurea: A Proprietary Extract of Echinacea purpurea Is Shown to be Safe and Effective in the Prevention of the Common Cold. Holist Nurs Pract, 30(1), 54-57. doi:10.1097/hnp.0000000000000130
Sharifi-Rad, M., Mnayer, D., Morais-Braga, M. F. B., Carneiro, J. N. P., Bezerra, C. F., Coutinho, H. D. M., . . . Sharifi-Rad, J. (2018). Echinacea plants as antioxidant and antibacterial agents: From traditional medicine to biotechnological applications. Phytother Res, 32(9), 1653-1663. doi:10.1002/ptr.6101