echinacea
Meaning of echinacea: Echinacea is an herbal supplement derived from purple coneflower, popularly used in an effort to prevent or shorten the common cold.
Definition of echinacea
Echinacea is an herbal supplement prepared from plants in the genus Echinacea, most often Echinacea purpurea or Echinacea angustifolia, native to North America and commonly known as purple coneflower. Various parts of the plant, including the root and above ground portions, are used to prepare extracts sold as capsules, tablets, teas, and liquid tinctures.
Echinacea is popularly used in an effort to prevent the common cold or shorten its duration, based on the idea that it stimulates immune system activity, though clinical trial results on its effectiveness have been inconsistent, with some studies showing a modest benefit and others showing none.
Because echinacea is thought to stimulate immune activity, its use alongside medications or conditions that involve deliberately suppressing or modulating the immune system, such as certain autoimmune conditions or anti-rejection therapy after organ transplant, is a recognized area of potential interaction.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient reported taking echinacea at the onset of cold symptoms.
Good to know
Echinacea's proposed immune stimulating effect is a specific concern for people on immunosuppressive therapy, such as organ transplant recipients, since the supplement could theoretically work against the intended effect of those medications.
Word origin
Where “echinacea” comes from
Formed from Greek echinos, meaning hedgehog or sea urchin, describing the spiny, bristled central cone of the plant's flower.