Echinacea is an herb that has been commonly used as a remedy for colds, which is part of some syrups and preparations that can be found in herbalists to treat children's respiratory infections.
A recent study has decided to study the effects of echinacea compared to a placebo and the results show that There does not seem to be a good treatment for common colds, since it does not surpass the placebo neither at the time of relieving the symptoms nor at the time of shortening the duration of the disease.
The study, which appears in the December 21 issue of the magazine Annals of Internal MedicineIt was performed with a sample of 719 people who suffered colds without being treated to those who randomly offered an echinacea pill and another that could be echinacea or a placebo.
The study was funded by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. UU. (part of the National Institutes of Health) and to carry it out, the symptoms of the people studied were recorded twice a day for about a week.
Results
The results showed that In those people taking echinacea, cold symptoms calmed seven to ten hours earlier than those receiving placebo or no treatment.. According to the authors of the study, although it might seem the confirmation of a beneficial effect of the plant, the data could not be considered statistically significant.
Nor were there statistically significant differences in assessing the severity of symptoms between the groups.
Conclusion
Echinacea is widely used in some countries such as the United States to remedy colds and now, after this study, it is shown that there is still no medication or herb (or at least not known), which helps to cure a common cold.
In any case, the authors of the study leave an open door to doubt (as is usually done), stating that "If the available sample had been larger, it is very possible that effects with statistical significance would have been observed" and add that, As echinacea is very safe it can be used without problems because, who knows, it may have a placebo effect that helps to better carry colds.
