There are nine Echinacea species indigenous to the North America, but only three of them are collected and cultivated as medical herbs. Echinacea prupurea, also known as purple coneflower, is commonly referred to as the natural antibiotic and commonly used to fight infection caused by common colds and flus.
The name Echinacea may derive from the Greek “echinos” the word for sea urchin or hedgehog after its bristly leaves and cone. It is mainly cultivated and features several spreading, purple flower rays and a conical disk composed of numerous purple florets, from which the name “purple coneflower” derives.
Echinacea species were used as medicinal herbs by native North American tribes. It has been reported to treat a variety of ailments, such as mouth sores, toothaches, sore throats, even snake bites.
H.F.C. Meyer, a German physician working in Nebraska, is credited with introducing Echinacea to the medicine when he began selling a patent formula containing a root extract of Echinacea angustifolia in the 1870s. Later, he presented Echinacea to the Physician John King and the pharmacist and manufacturer Uri Lloyd. They began marketing Echinacea in the 1880s and by 1915 Echinacea products were available from many pharmaceutical companies, including Merck and Wyeth.
Clinical trials have shown that Echinacea may be useful in treating colds, flus and infections of the upper respiratory system, while it also has anti-inflammatory activity. It is effective in managing skin abrasions and ulcerations when administered externally.
Echinacea purpurea contains polysaccharides, resembling bacteria, which motivate the healthy white blood cells attack bacterial invaders. E. puprurea cell cultures have been tested for possible gene toxicity in human lymphocyte cultures and found to have no significant toxic effects in short or long term experiments, while the allergic reactions are rare and are manifesting as asthma attacks, anaphylaxis or urticaria.
It is preferable to cultivate Echinacea purpurea to a sunny position in a good light soil. It succeeds better in dry soils. Sow at April in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. The seed usually germinates in 10 – 21 days at 25°c. It is better to keep them in the greenhouse for the first summer. The following summer, you can transfer and plant them out, in the soil. It can grow from 0.5 to 1.5 metres. It tolerates drought and it is a very ornament plant.
Sources: Heather Boon, Michael Smith, “The complete natural medicine guide to the 50 most common medicinal herbs”, Pages 90-101
Roger Phillips, Martyn Rix, “Perennials: the definitive reference with over 2500 photographs”
