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Echinacea
The efficacy of the Echinacea root extract as an immunomodulatory has been demonstrated in studies of viral and bacterial infection. The therapeutic superiority of the herbal immunomodulatory over placebo was confirmed as statistically significant and clinically relevant. Studies also demonstrated its efficacy as an immunobalancing agent, which is an antigen-independent mode of phytoimmunomodulation (110).
The mother tinctures of Echinacea have shown high inhibitory effect against Staphylococcus epidermidis (111).
Topical application of Echinacea containing ointment has been found to have good antiviral activity against both acyclovir resistant and acyclovir susceptible strains of HSV-1 and HSV-2 anti herpes simplex virus
(HSV) (112). Laboratory experiments showed that macrophages cultured in concentrations of Echinacea as low as 0.012 mug/ml produced significantly higher levels of IL-1,
TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-10 than unstimulated control cells. The high levels of IL-1,
TNF-alpha, and IL-10 induced by very low levels of Echinacea are consistent with an immune activated antiviral effect (113).
Echinacea stimulates wound-healing process by their antifungal/antibacterial qualities. Its locally applied form is well received by the tissues, without irritation, their action being primarily local rather than general as has been noticed from the paraclinic exams (114).
The Echinacea Purpurea flowers have more anti-inflammatory activity than the routs (115). Polyunsaturated alkamides isolated from Echinacea were shown to possess inhibitory activity in in-vitro cyclooxygenase and 5- lipoxygenase (116).
Echinacea Purpurea stimulates the neutrophil
phagocytosis. Echinacea treatment of mice, immunosuppressed with immunosuppressive drugs, restored their resistance against lethal infections with the predominantly granulocyte-dependent Candida albicans through stimulating the phagocytic activity (117,118). Polysaccharides purified from Echinacea purpurea were found to have antistaphylococci activity. These substances enhanced the ability of granulocytes to kill staphylococci.
Also activate monocytes to secrete TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1. Altogether, as in mice, the polysaccharides could induce acute phase reactions and activation of phagocytes in human (119).
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