Several viruses associated with upper respiratory diseases have been shown to stimulate the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including chemokines, sometimes in the absence of viral cytopathology. We evaluated the ability of a standardized preparation of the popular herbal medicine Echinacea (Echinaforce, an ethanol extract of herb and roots of E. purpurea, and containing known concentra...

Echinacea species are used for beneficial effects on immune function, and various prevalent phytochemicals have immunomodulatory effects. Using a commercial E. purpurea (L.) Moench product, we have evaluated the myelopoietic effect on bone marrow of rats treated with various extracts and correlated this with their chemical class composition. Granulocyte/macrophage-colony forming cells (GM-CFCs)...

Many of the herbaceous perennials, especially the newer cultivars of Echinacea, are poorly branching, slow to fill out the pot, and produce few propagules. Configure (6-BA, Fine Americas, Inc.), a new product recently labeled for branching of floricultural crops, was evaluated on a variety of perennials over two seasons. Configure was applied once as a foliar spray at rates of 0, 300, 600, 900 ...

Hepatitis B, a common infectious disease of liver, is transmitted by blood and body fluids like semen and vaginal fluid that carry hepatitis B virus (HBV). In chronic infection, medical care is required to decrease possibility of cirrhosis and liver cancer. In the present report, the hepatoprotective effect of an Echinacea purpurea preparation (Echiherb ® ) has been described in a patient who s...

Acne is a chronic inflammatory disorder of skin follicles caused by the gram-positive bacterium Propionibacterium acnes. The possibility was investigated that a standardized preparation of Echinacea purpurea (Echinaforce®), with known antiviral, antiinflammatory and antibacterial properties, might provide a useful alternative treatment in the control of the disease. The herbal extract readily k...

Innovations in the agro-industrial sector are determined by development of biotechnologies from stage growing raw materials to their processing and storage. In compliance with phytosanitary requirements (including use radiation technologies) for grain, issues ensuring preservation dry composite mixtures storage conditions bitechnological techniques prolonging shelf life when adding phytosources...

Article history: Received 6 March 2008 Received in revised form 3 July 2008 Accepted 5 July 2008 The aim of the present trial was to evaluate the effect of repeated short-time applications of Echinacea purpurea juice as feed additive to initiate an immune response. In a trial with 70 white layers (LSL) two Echinacea juices as feed additives were tested for their influence on feed intake, perfor...

BACKGROUND: It is important to understand the efficacy of immunoregulatory materials, herbal remedies or probiotics, in different parts of immune system following vaccination with different tropism. OBJECTIVES: Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Echinacea purpurea and a probiotic (protexin) on systemic and mucosal immune response in turkey. METHODS: A total of 288 1-day-old male tu...

In order to assess the immunopathological effects of aqueous Echinacea purpurea extract (EPE) on mice experimentally challenged with Pasteurella multocida serotype A, forty female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups. The groups included a control group (received sterile distilled water 2 times/week for 2 weeks, intraperitoneally and then 100 µl sterile saline intranasally), a PMA...

The effect of aqueous extract of Echinacea purpurea roots on the murine antibody response to Bothrops asper snake venom in vivo was studied. Three groups were used. Group #1, baseline control, was treated with snake venom plus PBS. Group #2 was treated with snake venom plus sodium alginate as adjuvant (routine method used at Instituto Clodomiro Picado), and group #3 or experimental group, was t...