What is Echinacea Purpurea?Good function and application of Polyphenols and Chicoric acid from Echinacea Purpurea Extract?

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Narrative History of Echinacea Purpurea.

Echinacea Extract ECHINACEA PURPUREA ROOT EXTRACT;ECHINACEA PURPUREA EXTRACT Echinacea angustifolia,Coneflower extract 289-808-4 90028-20-9 photo picture image Echinacea sp. has been used by humans for hundreds of years. Archaeological digs in the Lakota Sioux village sites have uncovered evidence of Echinacea plants as far back as the 1600's. The plants were introduced into "modern" European medicine in the late 1800's by H.C.F. Meyer, and were included in the U.S. National Formulary from 1916 until 1945. Echinacea was eventually removed from the Materia Medica because researchers were unable to demonstrate any direct anti-microbial action. Despite this, research continued and since the early 1930s there have been over 400 journal articles published, detailing the phytochemical make-up, indirect pharmacological activities, and clinical uses of Echinacea plants.

 Echinacea has a rich tradition of use by North American Plains Indians who used it medicinally more than any other plant. It was prominent in modern American medicine in the early 20th Century, and was discovered by Europeans, who have used it extensively since the 1930s. Today millions of Europeans use echinacea as their primary therapy for colds, flus, infections, and for general immune-boosting effects.

 The 18th century German botanist, Conrad Moench, named the genus Echinacea, which comes from the Greek echinos, meaning hedgehog, referring to the spiny, round seedhead which reminded him of a hedgehog or sea urchin. The species name, augustifolia, means "narrow-leaved". In some older literature, the names of Rudbeckia and Brauneria were used for this genus instead of Echinacea.

 Early settlers soon adopted the plant's medicinal value from Native Americans as a remedy for colds and influenza, and took it to Europe in the 17th century.

 Schar describes a typical scenario of herbs being introduced to the established medical society. A German country doctor discovered this remarkable American plant and its benefits and offered to show doctors its powers at a medical conference. He said that he would allow a snake to bite him and then cure that bite with nothing but echinacea. Nevertheless, the doctors ignored him. Dr. Meyer then presented this same offer to two other doctors named King and Lloyd, electics who belonged to a now-extinct branch of medicine. Uncharacteristically, these two doctors listened to the message and not the messenger and looked further into the herb's power. Despite initial doubts, the herb was introduced into the 1887 Materia Medica.

 American Eclectics, a group of doctors prominent from 1830 to 1930 who used botanicals in their practices, were a major force in bringing echinacea to the forefront of herbal medicine. They promoted it as a blood purifier for venereal disease, as well as an agent for treating migraines, rheumatism, tumors, malaria, and hemorrhoids. After their decline in the 1930s, the herb also fell into disfavour, but regained its stature when interest in herbal medicine revived in the 1970s and 1980s.

 In a 1914 issue of Gleaner, Dr. J.S. Leachman reported that the cornflower root was used by early settlers in Oklahoma for their own sicknesses, as well as in their livestock. It is reported that if a cow or horse did not eat well, it soon began to thrive when Echinacea was added to its feed.

 Once used by Native Americans, pioneers, and earlier generations of doctors, the herb fell out of favour after the advent of antibiotics in the 1930s, and only recently has been rediscovered -- and exploited into hundreds of commercial preparations that claim to boost the immune system and ward off cold and flu symptoms. Within the last fifty years, it has achieved worldwide popularity as an antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. The first pharmaceutical company to research the plant was the Sandoz Company. Its findings were published in Germany in 1950. They found the root to possess milk antibiotic activity against Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus.

 The native distribution of the plant does not extend into Mexico, indicating that its use there is as a result of trade between the tribes of the southern portion of the Prairie Bioregion and Mexico. Several tribes, including the Apache, Kickapoo, and Potawatomis, are known to have retreated into Mexico in the 19th century and may have taken the dried root with them. However, Mexicans often refer to a closely related species (Iostephane heterophylla) that they use which is found in Mexico.

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citations1.What is Echinacea Purpurea?Good function and application of Polyphenols and Chicoric acid from Echinacea Purpurea Extract?

last edit date:28th,April.2009.