Echinacea, the North American flower widely used to protect against colds, actually works – and works well – a scientific review found.
The plant, also called the purple cornflower, cut the chances of getting a cold by nearly two- thirds compared with a placebo, according to the review, which independently analyzed the results of 14 clinical studies. Echinacea cut a cold’s duration by as many as four days, said the review, published Sunday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
“Echinacea is one of the most commonly used herbal products, but controversy exists about its benefit in the prevention and treatment of the common cold,” lead author Sachin A. Shah of the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy wrote. The study found “echinacea decreased the odds of developing the common cold by 58 percent.”
A 2005 study in The New England Journal of Medicine found the plant treated, not prevented, colds. But the World Health Organization backs its use.
Scientists don’t know how it works exactly, other than that it stimulates the immune system. Nor, for that matter, do they know how safe it is and to what extent it may interfere with other drugs, Shah said.
