Echinacea found to halve the incidence of colds

The severity of common colds can be cut by two days with the early use of Echinacea, report researchers from the United States. Taken before the onset of full-blown symptoms, Echinacea doses halve the incidence of colds, they said.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, Dr Sachin A. Shah from the University of Connecticut detailed how he and colleagues analysed different randomised, controlled trials on the use of nutraceuticals in treating cold symptoms.

Echinacea, the most commonly used treatment, was found to cut incidence by 58 per cent, and shorten duration by 1.9 days.