Echinacea
botanical name: Echinacea angustifolia
Best known for shortening the duration of the common cold and flu and boosting the immune system to help fight off infections.
Key Features:
- persistent and chronic infections
- wound healing
- immune boosting
What does it do?
Immunity Enhancer: considered one of the primary remedies for assisting the body in clearing infection and raising immunity. It helps to reduce the severity and duration of symptoms by stimulating the immune system. Great for persistent infections and for aiding recovery of the immune system after an infection has caused much debility.
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Detoxifier / Blood-purifier: has an eliminative role where it often provokes elimination of the system troubled by infection.
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Upper respiratory: echinacea effectively targets bacterial, microbial and viral infections throughout the body but with particular affinity within the upper respiratory system. The reason for this is because the immune enhancing abilities of echinacea mainly focus on the throat surfaces and the underlying lymphatic tissues.
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Wound healing / external use: the alkylamides found in echinacea make it effective as a mouthwash for gum disease, canker sores etc and a wound wash for open sores and bites, particularly when healing is impaired. It has also been used to help soothe irritated skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
Active Constituents
Phenol compounds,
alkylamides,
polysaccharides
Parts Used
Roots
Herbal Actions
Antimicrobial
Antiseptic
Analgesic
Immunostimulant
Applications
Teas,
Capsules,
Tinctures,
Salves,
Oils
Precautions
Possible allergic reaction in people allergic to the daisy family
Consult a physician if person has an auto-immune disease