Echinacea: a miracle herb against aging and cancer? Evidence in vivo in mice

Abstract

Echinacea has been viewed as an immunoenhancing herb since it became commercially available several years ago. Indeed, its medicinal significance is responsible for billions of dollars in worldwide sales annually. Unfortunately, most of the 'evidence' for the purported medicinal efficacy of Echinacea has been anecdotal and, moreover, to this day, there is no formal proof on how to achieve the best results-whether it should be consumed daily throughout life as a prophylactic; consumed by either young or old; or consumed after diseases, such as cancer, have taken hold. Our work over the past 5 years has led to conclusive answers to some of these questions, at least in mice. Our results have shown that daily consumption of Echinacea is indeed prophylactic, extends the life span of aging mice, significantly abates leukemia and extends the life span of leukemic mice. Given that humans are 97% genetically common with mice and that virtually all our basic physiology is identical, it is neither unjustified to extrapolate these observations to humans nor would it be an arduous task to perform many of these studies in humans, thus establishing viable scientific evidence replacing the anecdotal.

Figure 1

Contained within Echinacea root extract is a family of complex polysaccharides known as arabinogalactans. These sugars directly stimulate macrophages to produce three cytokines that, in turn, directly stimulate NK cells. The latter respond by means of new NK cell production/numbers and/or increased lytic functional capacity. On the other hand, contained also within Echinacea root extract are a group of molecules known as the alkamides, some of which interact with two key enzymes essential to the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Normally, PGE2 is suppressive to NK cells. Consequently, when the fundamental enzymes are blocked, PGE2 levels are negligible and NK cells, now free of their suppressors, become increased in numbers and function. Thus, via these two different avenues, i.e. stimulation indirectly through macrophages, and release from suppressor factors (PGE2), whole Echinacea is a powerful NK cell stimulant. The diagram of the Echinacea plant is reproduced with permission from The Herbal Drugstore, LB White & S Foster, Rodale Inc., 2000.