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Echinacea
tea blend shortens duration of cold symptoms
In a double-blind,
placebo-controlled clinical study of 95 people, treatment with an echinacea
tea preparation (Echinacea Plus®, Traditional Medicinals) early in
the course of a cold or flu was significantly more effective in relieving
symptoms than a placebo tea. For the 90-day study, participants reported
for assignment to one of two treatment groups at the first onset of cold
and flu symptoms (scratchy throat, runny nose, fever, etc.). The subjects
drank 5 to 6 cups a day of echinacea or placebo tea on the first day of
symptoms, reducing the dosage to 1 cup per day for the next five days.
Results were assessed with a questionnaire that measured symptom relief,
duration of symptoms, and time before subjects noticed a difference in
symptoms. The echinacea tea was significantly more effective than placebo
in all parameters measured. No side effects were reported in either group.
Echinacea Plus is a proprietary blend of E. purpurea and E.
angustifolia leaves, flowers, and stems, a water soluble dry extract
of E. purpurea root, and flavoring herbs. Eater's Digest® (Traditional
Medicinals) was selected as the placebo tea because it was not expected
to have a significant effect on cold or flu symptoms at the dosages used
in this study. Among other herbs, Eater's Digest contains cinnamon, ginger,
and peppermint. Lindenmuth GF, Lindenmuth EB.
The efficacy of
echinacea compound herbal tea preparation on the severity and duration
of upper respiratory and flu symptoms: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled
study.
This article
originally appeared in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
2000; 6(4): 327-334.
