* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. var. angustifolia (DCJ Cronq.
Other names applied to Echinacea species: sampson root, black sampson.
The name Echinacea comes from the Greek echinos, referring to a spiny hedgehog or a seaurchin, a reference to the spiny floral bracts of the species. The word "echinacea" may be used as a scientific plant name (the genus Echinacea), a common plant name, and the word for drug preparations from the plants. Species of Echinacea are known as "coneflowers" because of the raised, cone-like flower-heads (as in many other members of the Compositae or Asteraceae, what appear to be flowers are actually aggregates of tiny flowers). Species of two other North American compositae genera, Rudbeckia and Ratibida, are also known as coneflower.
French Common Names
Apparently unavailable (the English word is employed).
Morphology
The native Canadian plants of E. pallida are usually 15 - 50 cm in height. They have stout, more or less bristly-hairy stems and lance-shaped or linear-lanceolate leaves. Attractive flowering heads appear in late surmner and autumil, with "petal" (ray flower) colors varying from whitish rose to pale purple. The phyllaries (subtending bracts) exceed the flowers in length and are spiny. In the fall, brown fruiting heads generally produce abundant seeds. The tap root is thick and blackish.
Classification and Geography
Echinacea is a genus of about nine species of perennial herbs, native to open woods and prairies of central and southeastern US, with one species extending into Canada. Native Canadian plants of Echinacea occur in southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. We follow the taxonomy of A. Cronquist in recognizing the Canadian plants as an element of a polymorphic, widespread species, E. pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. (note map). The Canadian plants belong to var. angustifolia (DC.) Cronq., (known as the species E. angustifolia in almost all biological and pharmacological literature). This has yellow pollen, whereas var. pallida (called E. pallida in almost all biological and pharmacological literature), has white pollen, and is not native to Canada. The species is native throughout the prairie region as far south as Texas. Introduced populations have been established in eastern North America including parts of Ontario. Both varieties are used medicinally but var. pallida, known as pale-flowered echinacea, is considered much less desirable commercially. Echinacea tenesseensis (Beadle) Small is very closely related to E. pallida, and has sometimes been considered to be a component of the latter species. This endangered endemic is found only in a few populations on limestone glades near Nashville, Tennessee (see map). Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, a species of east-central US, is second only to E. pallida var. angustifolia as a medicinal source of echinacea.
Echinacea products have commonly been adulterated, and recently several manufacturers have made efforts to ensure that their product is genuine. Much research that has been conducted on echinacea is open to question because the classification of the group was not understood by the researchers and their identifications of material utilized were incorrect. There is a need to carry out rigorous chemical, clinical and pharmacological studies with the help of taxonomists.
Ecology
In Canada, E. pallida typically occurs on prairie slopes. Like other coneflowers, it grows best in a sunny location, in fertile, well-drained soil.
Medicinal Uses
The root is the predominant part of the plant used medicinally, but flowers and sometimes leaves are also employed. The chewed root causes an unusual, acrid, tingling sensation on the tongue.
Long before echinacea was considered useful for reducing the 2.4 colds per person per year typical of North America, Indians seem to have used echinacea as a remedy for more ailments than any other plant. Although archeological records show that echinacea is known to have been employed by indigenous North Americans at least since the 1600s, European settlers appear to have taken up such use only 2 centuries ago, with the first patent medicine produced about 1870. This was named "Meyer's blood purifier" by the (German) Nebraskan lay physician H.C.F. Meyer, who created an echinacea mystique by widely publicizing his offer to allow a rattlesnake to bite him (which he never permitted) so that he could demonstrate the curative power of his miraculous medicine.
Echinacea today has become a star of the medicinal plant industry. Hundreds of scientific articles have been published about it, and many more non-scientific articles have extolled its virtues. As with several other herbal drugs that have become popular, there is some exaggeration concerning its benefits. Curiously, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was also a widespread conviction that echinacea was a wonder drug that would cure many illnesses, followed by an interval up to a decade ago during which the drug was thought to be ineffective. The present resurgence of interest is very large, so much so that some consider echinacea to be the most consumed herbal product in the US.
Root extracts of the medicinal species of Echinacea have been said to have cortisone-like antibiotic effects, antiviral properties, insecticidal capability, and a potential for stimulating the inunune system. There is no doubt that echinacea affects white blood cells, apparently beneficially. It has been speculated that echinacea increases the ability of the body to produce white blood cells that destroy bacteria and viruses. Like ginseng, echinacea is often consumed not so much to cure as to prevent illness and promote well-being.
Most scientific studies of echinacea have been carried out in Germany, the Western country which leads the world in phytomedicinal research. More than 200 echinacea pharmaceutical preparations are marketed there, as extracts, salves, and tinctures for use on wounds, herpes sores, canker sores, throat infections, and as a preventative for influenza. In Canada, five products have been registered for E. pallida var. angustifolia, and one for E. purpurea.
There is considerable agreement that echinacea is useful internally for preventing and treating the common cold and associated conditions such as sore throat, as well as externally for treating superficial wounds.
Chemistry
A wide array of constituents of echinacea may contribute to its medicinal properties. The polysaccharides and the alkylamides are thought to be the most active ingredients. "Echinacosides" have been identified as active ingredients, but there is disagreement about their significance.
Non-medicinal Uses
Coneflowers are commonly grown in wildflower and perennial gardens, and harvested as cut flowers. Echinacea purpurea is an especially popular border plant, and there are numerous ornamental cultivars available. By contrast, there seem to be no cultivars of E. pallida; the so-called horticultural cultivar Strigosa appears to be based on the taxonomic variety strigosa of the southern US.
Agricultural and Commercial Aspects
In recent years in the US, over 50 tonnes of wild echinacea has been harvested for overseas shipment, at a time when the domestic market has been expanding. Wild E. pallida var. angustifolia has become more difficult to find, and cultivation is becomingly increasingly necessary to supply the demand so that various species or local races will not be exterminated. In Europe, Echinacea is extensively cultivated. There is scattered cultivation in Canada.
Substrate conditions are particularly important to perennial root crops like echinacea. It thrives in well drained barns and sandy loam soils with a pH of 6 to 7, and although wild plants seem adapted to dry soils, in cultivation adequate water should be supplied. Roots are harvested at 3 or 4 years of age. Flowers may also be harvested for sale to phannacological firms, and seeds are still another saleable commodity. The cultivation of Echinacea appears to offer potential as a diversification crop in Canada, but as with other relatively undeveloped medicinal crops, caution, planning, and self-education are necessary to make it successful. In some recent years, the prices paid to farmers for growing echinacea have been low.
The wild Canadian populations are scattered, and doubtfully justify harvesting. Furthermore they could easily become endangered. These northernmost populations of the genus are of particular significance, since they are the ecotypes suited to the Canadian environment, and therefore constitute germplasm useful for improving future Canadian crops.
Myths, Legends, Tales, Folklore, and Interesting Facts
The Nebraska patent medicine purveyor Dr. H.C.F. Meyer, who offered to let himself be bitten by a rattlesnake to demonstrate the curative power of his echinacea formulation, has been credited as the source of the phrase "snake-oil salesman."
The Meskwaki tribe of native Americans called Echinacea "the hairs of Grandmother Earth's head."
There are various ways that have been recommended to pronounce echinacea ("ek-a-NAY-sha," "ek-in-EH-sha," "EHH-key-NAY-see-ya," "e-kin-na-sha"). The famous student of botanical Latin, W.T. Steam, wrote on the subject of how to pronounce names of Latin origin "how they are pronounced really matters little provided they sound pleasant and are understood by all concerned."
Magnus is a cultivar of Echinacea purpurea that was chosen as plant of the year by the Perennial Plant Association. It was selected by Magnus Nilsson near Paarp, Sweden, which happens to be just across the straits from Hamlet's legendary Danish castle at Helsingor.
User Group Forum
Share your questions and information with the ZooScape community!
Be the first to post!
Directions
Take 1 capsule, 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
No known toxicities.
If symptoms are severe or persist for more than two days, consult a physician.
Echinacea is contraindicated in those with an auto-immune disease (ie. Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS etc.) or allergies to plants in sunflower family.
Not recommended for preqnant or lactating women or those with allergies to soya.
Toxicity
Generally, there seem to be few undesirable metabolic effects of consuming echinacea. Since it is a member of the daisy family, those who are allergic to other members of the family (]ike ragweed) need to be aware of the possibility of cross sensitivity. Some have advised that echinacea should not be consumed when pregnant or suffering from diabetes. It has been recommended that echinacea not be used with such progressive systemic disorders as multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. Reports of hepatitis associated with echinacea have been noted in The Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee August 1993 bulletin.
Additional Information
TerraVita is an exclusive line of premium-quality, natural source products that use only the finest, purest and most potent ingredients found around the world. TerraVita is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. All of our products are prepared with the highest elements of quality control, from raw materials through the entire manufacturing process, up to and including the moment that the bottles or bags are sealed for freshness and shipped out to you. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
TerraVita exists to meet and ensure your family's health and wellness without the harmful effects or chemicals and prescription medications. We strive to make all of our products affordable and reliable and are constantly searching the market to maintain our affordability and to look for new ways to serve you and the ones you love. TerraVita has become a trusted household name for many families and can bring you and yours the very best herbal supplements, blends, teas and spices that are on the market today.
TerraVita is packed in childproof, tamper-proof pharmaceutical-grade recyclable containers.
ZooScape is proud to be the exclusive distributor of TerraVita teas, herbs and supplements in the United States, Canada and around the world. Please direct all wholesale and bulk inquiries to Simona Heather at 905-494-1785.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
