Photo: Pixabay The hot long days of summer are over and will become a fading memory. The warm golden days and crisp nights are upon us. Children back at school and cold and flu season beckons.
As I ride my bike just north of the Kelowna airport, I see acres of a purple and red daisy flower. I recognize the flower as echinacea, which is grown commercially by a large nutraceutical company. The glint of morning light on the flowerheads is beautiful and stunning.
Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea purpurea) are two perennial flowering plants native to the Great plains of North America. These species grow from 20 to 100 centimetres in height and have brightly coloured purple or reddish aster flowerheads when in bloom. It is a member of the Asteraceae or daisy family.
Both species were some of the most widely used medicinal plants of the midwestern Indigenous people. They were used to treat toothaches, coughs, colds, sore throats and snakebites and were also used as a pain killer. More recent scientific research, mainly by German researchers, showed echinacea has immune stimulating properties.
Many active ingredients have been identified in echinacea and it appears they work synergistically. Echinacoside is a glycoside, a sugar-linked molecule, comprising about 1% of the dry weight of the plant. It displays mild antibacterial activity.
Echinacin is a polysaccharide, or long-chain sugar molecule, that has immune stimulating and antiviral activity. Echinacin has been sho.