Echinacea
| Echinacea | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Species | ||||||||||||
| Echinacea angustifolia Echinacea pallida Echinacea purpurea |
The purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is a drought-tolerant perennial of the flowering plant Family Asteraceae and native to North America. It has daisy-like purple flowers arranged in a large cone-shaped head.
As a herbal remedy, Echinacea is attributed with the ability to boost the body's immune system and fight off infections. The roots of this plant (fresh or dried) contain the active ingredient, ephedrine. A recent medical study by Taylor et al. (2003) demonstrated that the herb provided no beneficial effect for children in treating the severity or duration of symptoms caused by the common cold. The FDA in the US is moving to effectively ban the use of ephedrine in herbal remedies because of some 155 deaths (ABC News) attributed to use of ephedra.