Echinacea: Echinacea angustifolia &  Echinacea purpurea; Purple coneflower

Growing Echinacea: Echinacea is an endangered species, depending on where you live, and has suffered from overharvesting after being popularized as a cold and flu fighter. EVERYONE SHOULD GROW ECHINACEA – they produce gorgeous flowers that feel criminal to harvest and are well known for attracting pollinators. Try to check your sources before purchasing herbal products featuring it – look for brands that harvest from cultivated fields and avoid wild-harvested echinacea, or products that do not share their sourcing information. Echinacea purpurea is a bit friendlier to grow, but angustifolia has a slightly stronger medicinal reputation. I have grown Echinacea from seed (seed must cold stratify!) as well as from my local native plant nursery. I keep it carefully labeled with its scientific name, as I do all my medicinal plants, in case I grow a variety down the road. Be sure to check for the plant’s scientific name before purchase! There are nearly a dozen species within the echinacea genus that range from pink to purple, with the exception of Echinacea paradoxa that features yellow flowers. Echinacea belongs to the Asteraceae (Daisy) family.

Echinacea’s Taste: Pungent, acrid

Parts of Echinacea Used: Entire plant: Flower, leaf, roots, seeds

Echinacea’s Energetics: Cooling Stimulant (slightly drying)

Echinacea’s Actions:

• Alterative (blood cleanser, supports metabolism and elimination, restore function) 
• Antimicrobial / Antiseptic
• Immune Stimulant & Immune Modulating
• Lymphagogue (promotes the flow of lymph, relieving stagnation)
• Sialagogue (promotes salivation)
• Circulatory Stimulant
• Vulnerary (promotes tissue repair)

Organs, Tissues, and Body Systems that echinacea acts on:

• THE BLOOD!
• Immune system
• Lymphatic system
• Mucosa & Skin

Traditional Use of Echinacea:

• While echinacea has recently become famous for its use as a cold and flu herb, it has historically been used as a blood purifier in treatment of blood poisoning and sepsis. It was also used as an anti-septic remedy for serious infections and a remedy for bowel pain.
• Native Americans widely used echinacea as a remedy for snake bites, spider bites, scorpion stings and anything venomous
  • “The Omaha, the Lakota, and the Ponca sometimes used the seed heads to comb their hair (Kindscher 1992). Purple coneflower stalks were used in play by Pawnee children. They would whirl two flower stalks one around the other, the two stalk touching by the flower heads.”
  • https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_ecan2.pdf
• According to the USDA Plant Guide, Early settlers in Oklahoma were known to treat a cow or horse that wasn’t eating well by mixing echinacea into the feed.
• Echinacea was (and is) often considered for anything with hot infection:  “bad blood” boils, cellulitis, acne, etc.

Current Uses of Echinacea:

• Immune system remedy for colds & flus.
• Helpful in recovery after surgery  and injury
• Mouthwash & gargle remedies often feature echinacea

Studies on Echinacea:

• It is important to note that, like ANY study, context and dosage are critical in determining the efficacy of an herb.  When you are ill, an experienced herb practitioner would advise a specific dosage to help treat an acute symptom. Echinacea is an herb used for short-term, acute symptoms and therefore the dosage is often higher and more frequent than herbs taken for chronic or more subtle symptoms or long term use. Clinical studies may not reflect the appropriate dose and may inaccurately portray an herbs efficacy. Clinical studies are often funded by pharmaceutical companies, so please keep this in mind when “googling” herbs and medication. Herbal constituents (versus the whole herb) are often isolated from their whole state and administered to animals in high or low doses. I don’t need to get into the ugly details of why a study may be compromised to ‘prove’ a drug is better than natural medicine.
• Animal & Clinical Studies have shown the following:
  • Echinacea activates the immune system. On a cellular level, this means it activates macrophages (the body’s first line of defense against pathogens) that communicate with other immune responses, alerting the body to an invader.
  • Echinacea stimulates and enhances T Cell response.
  • Echinacea bolsters and support B Cells.
  • Echinacea also activates NK (natural killer) cells that destroy infected and diseased cells (cancer cells are one example). *Macrophages, NK and T & B cells are types of white blood cells, so in a nutshell Echinacea activates white blood cells to fight disease.
  • Echinacea angustifolia root was found to possess mild antibiotic activity against Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus (Stoll et al. 1950)

Forms of Echinacea:

• Tincture, tea from aerial portions, decoction from roots, poultice and/or compress, honey or syrup, oxymel, vinegar, extract, soak or liniment
• Tea can be made by infusing hot water with the aerial parts (flowers) This is where you will feel those sparkly tongue sialagogue properties! You can also make a decoction from the root. Decoction means you simmer the root for 15-30 minutes to get the medicinal properties.
• Echinacea pairs well in formulations to target specific ailments:
  • Elderberry for seasonal cold
  • Elecampane for a cough & the lungs
  • Uva ursi for urinary tract inflammation
  • Ginger for stagnation
  • Oregon grape root for digestive system
• Often times people suffering from an illness take echinacea and continue “powering through” sickness symptoms (going to work, working out, etc) and are disappointed when they don’t see any results. While echinacea is a wonderful herbal ally, the #1 remedy for a tired and sick body is REST.
• Note on stagnation:
  • Lymph nodes can become swollen when they are overburdened by accumulated waste and fluid (after an infection for example, dead bacteria & metabolic waste) Often times you’re less active during an illness, which contributes to stagnation and swelling in the lymph nodes located under the neck, in your armpits and inguinal area. Echinacea’s alterative, blood cleansing properties can help “flush” and eliminate stagnation and swelling.

When to Reach for Echinacea & Dosage:

• When you’re not quite feeling right but you’re not quite sure what it is! 😉
• Taking echinacea in a tea or tincture form in the days leading up to travel is wise! You may also intake echinacea during your travels and a day or two after you return home to maintain your health. 1-3 servings per day (that would be a cup of tea or a dropper of tincture) is recommended here.
• I use echinacea in tincture form that I prepared from the dried root (1:4 @ 40% ABV).  Use echinacea at the onset of cold & flu symptoms! A dropper of tincture (1 tsp) in tea or water once per hour 4-6 times per day is appropriate for adults. Use could be continued a day or two after symptoms subside. So, at the onset, during illness, and a few days after, just like I mentioned for travel. This system would work for pre- and post-surgery or injury as well.
  • I have also used it as an ingredient homemade elderberry syrup, along with ingredients ginger, cinnamon and honey. I use 1 tablespoon of elderberry echinacea syrup alternatively with tincture in tea so that I total around 4-6 servings.
  • I used echinacea tincture in an herbal mouthwash for my mother-in-law along with calendula, sage, thyme + peppermint and tea tree essential oil.
  • Again, pairing it with herbs to target more specific illness or injury may be beneficial.
• If you live in an area where poisonous snakes or spiders reside, having a bottle of echinacea tincture on hand is recommended to consume ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL.

Safety Considerations:

• Some auto-immune ailments may be aggravated by echinacea because of its immune-stimulating and modulating properties. Use caution in these cases.
• Echinacea is a member of the Asteraceae family, and may cause an allergic reaction in those with a corresponding allergy.

Planetary, Dosha & Elemental Correspondence:

• Fire plant ruled by Mars
• Echinacea balances heat patterns, and stagnation. This balances kappa (prone to stagnation)and pitta (prone to heat) doshas with its cooling, stimulating effect and slightly drying properties. Since this plant is typically taken short term it’s unlikely to cause constitutional imbalances.