What does taking the supplement echinacea do?

Question

and does it work?

Answer 1

Echinacea is generally taken to boost the immune system.  Also, when it is taken at the first sign of a cold, it reduces cold symptoms and shortens their duration.

Answer 2

It does Nothing....

Additional information:

Abacaxitoo..  You do realize that your source is some sort of homeopathic book from 1927?  

"Take it for 3 weeks"  The common cold is only last 2-3 weeks without taking anything..

Sources:

Treatment of the Common Cold with Unrefined Echinacea A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:939-946.

Treatment of the Common Cold with Echinacea: A Structured Review Clinical Infectious Diseases 2005; 40:807–10.

An Evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in Experimental Rhinovirus Infections NEJM July 28 , 2005 vol.353 no 4.

Studying Herbal Remedies Wallace Sampson, M.D. NEJM Volume 353:337-339 July 28, 2005.

Echinacea Treatment for the Common Cold Clinical Infectious Diseases 2005; 40:811–2

Echinacea purpurea for Prevention of Experimental Rhinovirus Colds. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2004; 38:1367–71.

Echinacea for the Common Cold: Can Alternative Medicine Be Evidence-Based Medicine? 17 December 2002 Annals of Internal Medicine Volume 137 Number 12.

Lancet Infect Dis. 2007 Jul;7(7):473-80.

Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis.

Treatment of the Common Cold with Echinacea: A Structured Review

Clinical Infectious Diseases 2005; 40:807–10

Treatment of the Common Cold with Unrefined Echinacea

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:939-946. www.annals.org

NEJM

Volume 337:536-542 August 21, 1997 Number 8

Discrepancies between Meta-Analyses and Subsequent Large Randomized, Controlled Trials=

Epidemiology and Reporting Characteristics of Systematic Reviews

PLoS Medicine | www.plosmedicine.org March 2007 | Volume 4 | Issue 3 | e780447

How Quickly Do Systematic Reviews Go Out of Date? A Survival Analysis

Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:224-233. www.annals.org

Outcome reporting bias in randomized trials funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

CMAJ • SEPT. 28, 2004; 171 (7) 735

JAMA Vol. 291 No. 20, May 26, 2004

Empirical Evidence for Selective Reporting of Outcomes in Randomized Trials Comparison of Protocols to Published Article

2006;333;782-; originally published online 6 Oct 2006; BMJ

Answer 3

it kills the devils inside you that make you sick.... works much better than most other drugs.

Answer 4

Echinacea boosts the immune system.

Answer 5

It helps boost your immune system! Yes it works wonders I always take it when I start to feel sick and it wipes whaever I have in my system right out! Make sure you drink plenty of water though it will flush bad things out of your system....

Answer 6

It does two things to two separate parts of your "immune system":

1 - Increases phagocyte activity (makes your white blood cells more active)  This makes it useful to shorten the coughing up c**p stage after a cold.

2 - Decreases "mast cell" reactivity (makes these cells less likely to react to antigens). This might decrease your tendency to respiratory allergies if you take it for long periods. It takes at least 3 weeks because it only works on new mast cells and thye are long-lived.

Answer 7

Echinacea boosts your immune system but it is only suitable for short term use.

If echinacea is used for a long term it is likely to weaken your immune system as apparently it starts to attack your immune system.