Echinacea preparations are widely used for common cold. Many consumers and healthcare professionals are not aware that products available under the term Echinacea may differ in their composition, due to the use of different species, plant parts, extraction methods and addition of other components. In 2005, a Cochrane review has been published to provide objective evidence whether the various Ec...

Echinacea is used widespread as an herbal paramunity-inducer to reduce various infections in humans. The recommended application is a prophylactic use for several weeks. On the other hand, it was shown that e.g. phagocytosis is depressed by an intake duration exceeding 5 days. The aim of the present trials was to test if a repeated short-time application of Echinacea juice as feed additive is s...

The Effect of Hormone Seed Priming Using Gibberellic Acid on Germination Characteristics and Seedling Growth Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Background Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze is a mainly dioecious species that reproduces through outcrossing. However, some monoecious trees have been identified and they may reproduce through self-fertilization. The objective of this study was to confirm the expected relatedness of self-sibs of hand self-pollinated monoecious seed trees, and to investigate the mating system of open-po...

The use of medicinal herbs to relieve and treat diseases is increasing because of their mild features and few side effects (Basgel and Erdemoglu, 2006). These plants are unlicensed and freely available, however, and there is no requirement to demonstrate efficacy, safety or quality (Ernst, 1998). Cassia angustifolia Vahl (Family: Caesalpinaceae), popularly known as senna, is a valuable plant dr...

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...

BACKGROUND Echinacea is a herbal preparation that is frequently used to treat the common cold. Spending on echinacea in the United States has risen to >300 million dollars annually. METHODS A total of 322 articles related to echinacea and colds, including 9 placebo-controlled clinical trials, were identified using the Medline and PubMed databases. Eleven features of experimental design that a...

Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze is a dioecious conifer species native of Brazil. The rare occurrence of monoiceous specimens have been attributed to pathogenic infections or other injuries in adult trees. Here, the morphological characteristics of male and female cones and pollen grains of a monoiceous A. angustifolia are described. Male and female cones and pollen grains presented nor...

The insecticidal effects of 20 essential oils derived from herbs, were tested against the housefly species Musca domestica L. using a susceptibility test. Each was applied in ethyl alcohol at concentrations of 1, 5 and 10% (v/v). Ten percent concentrations of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), Mentha piperita (peppermint) and Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oils were the most effective, showin...

Article history: Received on: 09/06/2014 Revised on: 17/07/2014 Accepted on: 04/08/2014 Available online: 27/08/2014 The present study was attempted to evaluate diuretic potency of total alcoholic extracts and its polar and non polar fractions of Priyala fruits (Buchanania angustifolia, Buchanania lanzan Fam: Anacardiaceae) in rats. Healthy adult Wistar albino rats weighing about 150-200 g were...