Echinacea Fails as Cold Cure in Small Study

After administering echinacea to 73 college students on the first day they showed signs of a cold and then continuing the dose for as long 10 days, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found what they said was no detectible difference in duration or severity of the cold symptoms vs. students with colds who received an inactive placebo, according to a Dec. 16 United Press International (UPI) article.

Principal researcher Bruce Barrett, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin, notes that echinacea studies in Europe have proven that the herb does have benefits for cold sufferers. He speculated that the herb might have a more marked effect on the elderly and cautioned the public to wait until the completion of other echinacea studies currently in progress before making a final judgment, according to UPI. He also noted that different preparations of the herb could yield more impressive results.

The study results appear in the Dec. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.