Echinacea as a potential force against coronavirus infections?

ABSTRACT

Introduction Echinacea purpurea has been shown to broadly inhibit coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in vitro [1]. Aim To assess the available clinical evidence for Echinacea preparations in the infection prevention against coronaviruses. Method In a systematic literature search on MEDLINE and EMBASE articles were selected for clinical trials with Echinacea studying RT-PCR-confirmed viral respiratory tract infections in humans. Results Jawad collected nasopharyngeal swabs from N=755 adults over 4 months of prevention. Overall, 24 and 47 enveloped virus infections occurred, including 21 and 33 coronavirus detections [229E;HKU1;OC43] with Echinaforce® (2400 mg/d) and placebo, respectively (p=0.0114) [2]. Ogal administered Echinaforce® extract (1'200 mg) or control for 4 months to N=203 children (4-12 years). The incidence of enveloped virus infections was reduced from 47 to 29 (p=0.0038). Viral loads in nasal secretions were significantly diminished by 98.5%, with Ct-values 31.1 [95%CI 26.3;35.9] versus 25.0 [95%CI 20.5;29.5] (p=0.0479) ([Fig.1]) [3]. Kolev applied Echinaforce® extract (2'400 mg/d) vs. no treatment over 5 months to N = 120 adults and reported 10 vs. 20 coronavirus infections (p=0.046) of which 5 vs. 14 samples tested SARS-CoV-2 positive (p=0.03) [4]. Conclusion Echinacea's broad antiviral spectrum was confirmed in clinical trials suggesting its potential for prevention of infections by respiratory pathogens, including coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2.