Echinacea: The golden herb for women's hormonal health

Extracts of the plant known as Echinacea purpurea (also known as the purple coneflower) have a long history of usage in North American folk medicine for the treatment of a wide variety of wounds and illnesses, and today they are among the most widely used herbal medicines in the world. Recent research has shown that particular standardised formulations offer powerful and selective antibacterial and antiviral activity.

They also exhibit a wide range of immune-modulatory activities, including the promotion of phagocytic activity of macrophages and the attenuation of inflammatory responses of epithelial cells to viruses and bacteria, as evidenced by changes in the release of a number of cytokines and chemokines.

These adjustments to the immune system are brought about by overexpression or reduced expression of the genes and transcription factors involved in the question. These bioactivities appear to be due to a combination of components, rather than any one of the chemical constituents that characterise Echinacea extracts and have been demonstrated at noncytotoxic amounts of extract. The traditionally accepted applications of bioactive extracts may not be the only ones they have to offer1.

The common cold, influenza, and other upper respiratory tract infections are just a few of the conditions for which echinacea is used as a popular treatment. In the hopes that it will keep the cold from getting worse, some people begin taking echinacea as soon as they experience the first signs of a cold. After experiencing cold symptoms, some people decide to take echinacea in the hopes that it will lessen their severity. Infections of the urinary tract, vaginal yeast infections, herpes, HIV/AIDS, human papillomavirus (HPV), bloodstream infections (septicaemia), tonsillitis, infections brought on by streptococcus, syphilis, typhoid, malaria, ear infections, swine flu, warts, and nose and throat infections known as diphtheria are among the many other infections that are treated with echinacea. Treatment for anxiety, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), migraines, acid indigestion, discomfort, dizziness, rattlesnake stings, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and improving exercise performance are additional uses. In some cases, people would topically apply echinacea to their skin to treat ailments like boils, gum disease, abscesses, skin wounds, ulcers, burns, eczema, psoriasis, sun-related skin damage, herpes simplex, yeast infections, bee stings, snake and mosquito bites, and haemorrhoids2.

Additionally, vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections (UTIs) can both be treated with echinacea when given intravenously3.

Evidence suggests that the use of echinacea during pregnancy does not raise the risk of birth abnormalities or other pregnancy-related health problems, despite worries that echinacea may be hazardous for pregnant or breastfeeding women. There is a need for additional investigation. In the meanwhile, it is recommended that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding refrain from consuming echinacea until further research has been done4.

  1. Echinacea - Women’s Health - Wichita Falls, TX - Obstetrics - Gynecology - Pregnancy - Hormone Replacement Therapy - da Vinci Surgey - Robotic Surgery - Sonogram. Learn more.
  2. Echinacea (Echinacea Purpurea). Bachari - En Learn more.
  3. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Microbiomic and Immunologic Profiling of Women With Antibiotic Induced Vaginal Candidiasis. Learn more (2019).
  4. Echinacea Information | Mount Sinai - New York. Learn more.