ENCYLOPEDIA

Blueberries — Echinacea

Purple porcupine (Echinaceae purpura) is a herb that comes from areas east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. It is also grown in western states, as well as in Canada and Europe.

Purple porcupine – Anti-infections and Threats:

Echinacea is safe for most people when taken orally in the short term. Various liquid and permanent forms of Echinacea have been used safely for up to 10 days. There are also some products such as Echinaforce (A. Vogel Bioforce AG, Switzerland) that have been safely used for up to 6 months.

Some side effects such as fever, nausea, vomiting, bad taste, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, sore throat, dry mouth, headache, numbness of the tongue, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, confusion and joint and muscle pain have been reported. In rare cases, echinacea has been reported to cause hepatitis.

Applying echinacea to the skin can cause redness, itching or rash.

Echinacea is likely to cause allergic reactions in children and adults who are allergic to ambrosia, mother, naked or daisies. If you are allergic, make sure you contact your doctor before taking echinacea.

Children

Echinacea is safe when administered orally within a short period of time. It seems to be safe for most children aged 2-11. However, about 7% of these children may experience a rash that may be caused by an allergic reaction. There are concerns that allergic reactions to echinacea may be more severe in some children. For this reason, some regulatory organisations advise against giving echinacea to children under 12.

Pregnancy

Eating Echinacea is safe. There is some evidence that the porcupine can be safe when taken during the first trimester of pregnancy without harming the fetus. But until this is confirmed by additional studies, it is best to stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Breast-feeding

There is insufficient reliable information on the safety of echinacei intake if you are breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Inherited allergy (atopia)

people with this disease are more likely to be allergic to echinacea. It is best to avoid exposure to echinacea if you have such a condition.

"Autoimmune disorders", such as multiple sclerosis (multiple sclerosis), lupus erythematosus (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), skin disorder called common vesicular disease or other:

Echinaceae may affect the immune system, which may worsen these conditions. Don't take echinacea if you have autoimmune disorders.

General characteristics of purple porcupines

Echinaceae is a herb that comes from areas east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. It is also grown in western states, as well as in Canada and Europe. Several species of echinacei plants are used to produce medicines from leaves, flowers and roots. Echinaceae was used in traditional herbal drugs by tribes of Indian Great Plains. Later, settlers followed the Indian example and began using echinacea also for medicinal purposes. For some time, echinacea enjoyed official status as a result of being listed on the U.S. National Formalities list from 1916 to 1950. However, the use of echinacea fell out of favor in the United States by discovering antibiotics. But now people are interested in echinacea again because some antibiotics do not work as well as they used to against some bacteria.

Echinacea is widely used to combat infection, especially colds and flu. Some take echinacea at the first signs of a cold, hoping they can stop the development of the cold. Other people take echinacea after starting a cold flu-like symptoms, hoping they can make the symptoms less severe or faster.

Echinacea is also used against other types of infections, including urinary tract, ear and throat infections, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Sometimes people apply echinacea to the skin to treat boils, skin wounds, or burns.

Echinacea products are available in many forms, including tablets, juices and tea.

There are concerns about the quality of certain echinacea products on the market. Echinacea products are often incorrectly labelled and some may not even contain echinacea, despite the declaration on the label. Do not be misled by the term "standardized". This does not necessarily mean accurate labelling. In addition, some echinacea products have been contaminated with selenium, arsenic and lead.

How does Blackberry work?
Echinaceae appears to activate chemicals in the body, which reduces inflammation, which may reduce the symptoms of the cold and influenza.

Laboratory tests suggest that echinacea may stimulate the body's immune system, but there is no evidence that this is the case in humans.

Echinaceae also appears to contain certain chemicals that may directly attack yeasts and other types of fungi.

Purple porcupine – action and curiosity

Echinaceae may reduce the symptoms of a cold

In a study involving 282 patients (DB-RCT), echinacea collected at the first outbreak reduced the severity of the symptoms.

Different clinical trials with echinacea indicate that echinacea may help or have no effect on the treatment of the cold. One analysis showed that echinacea extracts help prevent colds and reduce their duration (1.4 days). Another analysis found that some extracts have no clinically relevant effect on the prevention of colds.

The positive effect of echinacea extracts on the symptoms of the cold is probably due to its anti-inflammatory effect on the airways.

Echinaceae improves immune response

Echinacea promotes the overall immune function by reducing inflammation and infectious diseases. Echinacea extract increases circulating white blood cells (lymphocytes and monocytes) in mice and rats.

In a study involving 6 adults treated for 3 days, the fenugreek extract reduced inflammation and increased particle production (IFN-alpha) that combat infections. Echinaceae inhibited inflammatory molecules (IL-6, IL-8) after viral infection in lung cells. In the human respiratory model, treatment with echinacea reduced mucosa in the lungs (reduction of mucopolisaccharide and mucin).

Echinaceae improves skin problems

In cells, echinacea inhibited collagen decomposition by free radicals. It also assisted wound healing (skin) after topical use in rats. This is attributed to its antioxidant activity and its ability to reduce skin irritation (hyaluronidase inhibition). Echinaceae can help to treat acne, inhibit bacterial growth and reduce inflammation. In 49 patients, treatment with echinacea for 3 months (DB-RCT) helped improve the symptoms of atopic dermatitis (redness and swelling).

Echinaceae may reduce inflammation

Porcupine extracts were anti-inflammatory in rats after topical and oral use. Echinacea extract reduced respiratory tract inflammation and expanded air ducts in guinea pigs, acting like salbutamol.

Echinacea reduces inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory molecules and binding to the cannabinoid receptor. It does not necessarily help fight infections, but it can help reduce the symptoms of infection.

These effects may also be due to the ability of echinacea to inhibit cyclooxygenase, an enzyme that helps in the formation of inflammatory molecules (prostaglandins, thromboxan and levuloglandins). Cyclooxygenase is the target of many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen.

Echinaceae has antiviral activity

In studies with multiple cells, echinacea showed antiviral activity against herpes simple herpes viruses, rhinoviruses, human, avian and swine flu. Echinacea is not effective against viruses when entering a cell. Porcupine extract reduced the intensity of influenza infection in mice.

Echinacea was mainly active in membrane viruses (such as herpes simplex, influenza and coronaviruses), probably due to its ability to interact with membranes and block hemaglutinin and neuraminidase receptors.

Echinaceae inhibited yeast growth (Candida albicans).

In mice, treatment of echinacea protected against fatal infections of different species (C. albicans and Listeria monocytogenes). This effect may be due to the ability of echinacea to damage the fungal cell wall.

Echinaceae kills bacteria and parasites

Echinacea has antibacterial effects against S. pyogenes, H. influenzae, L. pneumatica, C. difficile and P. acne. In human cells, echinacea also kills the parasites L. donovani, L. major and T. brucei.

Echinaceae can improve insulin resistance in diabetes

Obesity may increase insulin resistance, causing less glucose to enter cells and higher blood glucose levels. In time, this can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Eurasian extracts increased insulin activity in mouse fat cells, resulting in increased glucose uptake. This is due to PPAR-gamma activation. Therefore, echinacea may be useful in treating insulin resistance associated with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Echinacea is an antioxidant

Echinacea extracts exhibit antioxidant effects by removing free radicals (hydroxyl radicals and DPPH). They also inhibit cell damage (peroxidation of lipids) caused by oxidative stress. In mice injected with echinacea for 3 weeks, blood antioxidant activity (SOD) was increased.

Echinaceae may reduce anxiety

Echinaceae also reduced mild anxiety in 32 healthy adults taking echinacea for 7 days. In rats, echinacea reduced anxiety behaviour. This may be due to the ability of echinacea to bind to the CB2 cannabinoid receptor.

Echinaceae may reduce pain

Echinacea extract inhibits the TRPV1 receptor, which affects our pain sensation and reduces inflammation. It also inhibits cyclooxygenase enzymes, which are the target of many non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that relieve pain.

Echinaceae can help with depression

Echinacea extract had antidepressant effects in rats and increased the stimulating effect of L-DOPA (a amino acid converted to dopamine) [R].