Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (43 page)
Read Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria Online
Authors: Stephen Harrod Buhner
Tags: #Medical, #Health & Fitness, #Infectious Diseases, #Herbal Medications, #Healing, #Alternative Medicine
Synergistic with astragalus and licorice in the stimulation of immune function.
The echinaceas are perennials, indigenous to eastern and central North America, usually in moist or dry prairies and open woodlands.
E. purpurea
is a major garden plant pretty much everyplace that has gardens. It is also a major agricultural crop everywhere on Earth, including China, so this member of the genus, even if no others, has colonized numerous countries around the globe.
The plants are unbranched, erect, with wide-bladed leaves and grow 3 to 5 feet tall. Writers often describe the plant leaves as hairy with a rough texture. To me the experience is more like touching Velcro; the plant doesn't mess around. The stems are strong, the plants vigorous, intense. They are not
oooooh
love/mushy plants and have no resemblance to puppies or kittens.
All the species except
purpurea
have strong taproots, brown, vigorous, intense.
Purpurea
's roots are some sort of strange, glumpy, fibrous sort of paleish-tannish thing. I never have been attracted to that species and besides I don't think it is all that good medicinally so I am prejudiced; the rootish things it produces just look wimpy to me, sort of like a bag of earthworms curled around an irregular sort of tannish lump. But, you know, go ahead and use
purpurea
if you want.
The reason why so many people use
purpurea
for medicine rather than
angustifolia
(which I think much stronger) is that it is easier to grow. (Ah hah!) Throw the seeds in the ground in the fall and up they come in the spring. Like all the echinaceas they prefer a period of cold before germinating, but I have talked to people who just planted seeds in the spring and found them to be decent if not spectacular germinators. You can also separate the
purpurea
root thingies into chunks and propagate them that way. From personal experience, and from everyone I have talked to, the other species of echinacea are decidedly cranky; you have to work at it to get them to grow.
Angustifolia
is a poor germinator until you figure out just what it likes; stratification is essential for the
plantâhowever, soaking the seeds in ethephon for 10 minutes will help germination tremendously, much more than stratification.
At one time it was almost impossible to get anything other than
purpurea
to put in a garden, but that has changedâmany people now have seedlings available of most of the echinacea species. Horizon Herbs (see Resources) has one of the best selections. The plants self-seed once established, so beginning with seedlings and tending them carefully until they take is a good route to go if you want this medicinal as a permanent member of your herb garden.
Fall-harvest the rootsâafter 3 years or so in the groundâafter the leaves turn brown. Harvest the seed heads just after the seeds mature. I prefer my root tincture to be from dried roots rather than fresh, but then I use
angustifolia
and am in a minority in this; most people use the fresh
purpurea
roots. In any event, let the (
angustifolia
) roots dry whole, then store them in plastic bags in the dark in a cool location. They will last for years if properly stored. (Studies on years-old dried roots found them just as effective as the fresh roots in their actions.)
You can harvest the fresh plants for juicing anytime, the German approach, and that won't kill the plant as taking the roots does. The plants are most potent if you take them in full flower, then run them through a juicer, and stabilize the juice with 20 percent alcohol by volume (see
page 227
).
Echinacoside, echinacin, echinoline, echinacein, polyacetylenes, hydrocinnamic acid, betaine, alkylamides, caffeic acid glycosides, inulin, isobutyl amides, isobutylalkamines, sesquiterpene esters, and so on.
AYURVEDA
Nope.
Nein.
The various echinacea species were used for a very long time by the indigenous cultures of North America, who then passed on the knowledge to the nascent American medical movements (who really went with it). The native cultures used the plants, most often the roots, for wounds and sores; as a poultice for swellings; for septic wounds, sores in the mouth or gums, respiratory infections, sore throat, tonsillitis, enlarged glands, fevers, mumps and measles; as a wash for the pain of burns; for toothache and cavities; for snakebites and poisonous bites from insects and spiders; stomach cramps, GI tract distress, arthritis, rheumatism. They took large frequent doses.
The Eclectics were first alerted to the plant by its usefulness for snakebite treatment but went on to use it as one of their primary medicines. Generally, they used it much like the native cultures. They, however, felt the herb specific for septicemia, infected blood, severely infected wounds (with blood infection), generally infected mucous membrane systems of the throat, tongue, mouth, lungs, and stomach, tonsillitis, respiratory infections with foul smell, diphtheria, infected insect bites, and on and on and on. They used large frequent dosesâevery half hour to hour. The Eclectics
only
used
angustifolia
; they did not consider
purpurea
a legitimate substitute for it nor a very good herb in and of itself.
The use of
Echinacea purpurea
came about not only because of ease of growth but due to intense German interest in the plant; it is part of their standard-practice medicine. (They used
purpurea
because it was easy to grow and was already present in the country.) Most, if not all, of the German studies and use, however, have been with the expressed juice of the plantâwhich they often use parenterally (by injection) rather than taken by mouth; they don't use the root of
purpurea
.
Hello
âthey don't use the root of
purpurea
. They do use the root of
E. pallida
as an ethanolic extract taken by mouth.
Purpurea
root came into vogue in the United States during the herbal renaissance of the late twentieth century
because
of the German use of the expressed juice of the aerial parts of the plant in flower (an invalid generalization to the root from the actions of the fresh juice)
and
because it was easily available in the eastern United States. It is native to the eastern United States and is widely grown there in gardens.
Like goldenseal, echinacea is a North American plant and, as such, most of the studies in the United States are still arguing about whether it works or not (just as with goldenseal). The Germans are under no such illusions; it is part of their standard-practice medicine. Most of the early research occurred in Germany; the rest of the world is just starting to catch up. Unfortunately a great deal of the research has devoted itself to deciding whether the herb works or not (generally not) and way too many of the studies look at the use of the herb as a preventive for coldsâin adults and children. Very few of them have looked at the traditional uses and dosages of the herb and oriented their studies around that, so that they are discovering it useless for what they are testing it for. What a shock. Basically, they are giving capsules of
purpurea
in small doses a few times a day to help prevent coldsâsome good double-blind studies, too. (That's where they poke out
both
of the researchers' eyes and â¦)
If I had a nickel for every person who has told me they had a cold and had taken some echinaceaâusually
purpurea
â(dropperful 3x daily) and didn't notice any difference, I would be rich.
To be clear: The herb is very good,
if you are using it properly for the right things
. It is relatively useless for preventing colds. The overuse of the herb for that (especially combined with goldensealâwhat a waste) is due entirely to marketing ploys by the larger herb companies. Echinacea
can
help at the onset of a cold or flu
if used in large doses every half hour or hour exactly at the onset of the cold or flu
. If the infection gets established, use lomatium, because echinacea just ain't gonna cut it. I have also found that echinacea is much less effective as a flu and cold treatment for people past the middle age shift. It is, however, very good for younger people
if used properly.
Nevertheless, I don't consider that the main strength of the plant. In general, it is very good for exactly what the native peoples and Eclectics used it for:
severe
infections of the throat, infected wounds that stink, insect bites, snakebites, nastily infected mucous membranes especially if accompanied by foul smell, septicemia, wounds and sores, sores in the mouth and gums, and so on. If your condition is similar and you treat it aggressively, the plant can save your life.
The herb does enhance immune function, but most people think of it as an immune tonic. It isn't. Rhodiola and ashwagandha are tonics but not echinacea. Echinacea is an immune
stimulant
.
I have found the herb to be excellent for raising immune function in
active
infections if taken internally in the right doses and to be very specific for correcting problems in the skin or mucous membranes if used topicallyâbasically anyplace the herb can touch the affected part. But the doses have to be high and frequent or else forget it. And again, if you have any kind of circulating infection, especially if there is bacteria in the blood (septicemia), the herb is very potent if taken properly.
The herb also has some good specific actions on the mucous membranes and collagen tissues of the body, but you really have to know what you are doing to get good outcomes. And again, I just haven't found
purpurea
to be as reliable as
angustifolia
for serious conditions. Some of the herbalists I know in Europe insist that they have, but I have personally tried really large doses of
purpurea
, for myself and others, and it just isn't up to snuff. The native cultures almost always used
angustifolia
for serious conditions (so did the Eclectics);
purpurea
had a very small profile in indigenous medicine in the United States. I tend to think they were on to something, as I have, as they apparently did, found
purpurea
weak.
If I had a nickel for every person who has told me they had a cold and had taken some echinacea and didn't notice any difference, I would be rich.
Does
purpurea
work at all? Well, yes, but we are talking pretty good doses of the fresh plant juice here (6 to 15 ml, i.e., 1 to 3 teaspoons daily) and using it in specific ways for specific conditions and stillâfor colds and influenza even the Germans consider it to be only
supportive
. Its real strength in their system is as a topical treatment for wounds and sores.
There are very few if any commercial products in the United States that use the fresh juice or suggest the right dosing strategies and amounts. The main thing is â¦
angustifolia
(and the others) are just better. Much better.
E. purpurea
is used in Germany as a
supportive
therapy for colds, for chronic infections of the respiratory and lower urinary tract, or externally for poorly healing wounds and chronic ulceration. The tincture of
E. pallida
root is used as supportive therapy for influenza-like infections. Supportive, not primary.
Most of the usable studies on echinacea have used the fresh juice of
Echinacea purpurea
. Unless otherwise noted, that is what these studies are referring to. There have been hundreds of papers published on the plant; this is just a sampling.
But first ⦠echinacea (all species) really has two primary actions: it stimulates the immune system and it is a very potent hyaluronidase inhibitor. Many of its most potent medicinal actions come from these two things.
Hyaluronidase (HYL) is an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid (HA), a glycosaminoglycan that is widely distributed throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. It is, as well, a major part of the extracellular matrix. Inhibition of hyaluronidase has a number of beneficial actions: 1) In inflammatory diseases such as various forms of arthritis, the use of a hyaluronidase inhibitor stops the normal (and abnormal) breakdown of cartilage (and synovial fluid), which increases the amount of cartilage (and fluid) in and around the joints, helping counteract, even reverse, the condition. Combined with the anti-inflammatory actions of the herb, this means that large doses can be highly useful for reversing various forms of arthritis and rheumatism. 2) Hyaluronic acid is a major component of the skin and is highly involved in skin repair. HA contributes to tissue dynamics, cell movement and proliferation, and the generation of new cellular tissues. HA is strongly present in new wounds and enhances cellular filtration. It is an essential element of granulation; that is, the new cellular tissue that slowly takes the place of the clotted blood (scab) that first forms over a wound. This tissue forms from the bottom of the wound upward. The more HA, the faster and better it forms. Hyaluronidase inhibition means that more HA is present in the skin/wound area and skin repair is significantly enhanced. 3) With many types of cancer, hyaluronidase plays a major role in metastasis. It degrades the extracellular matrix and allows cancer cells to escape the
main tumor mass. HYL also degrades other cellular structures, allowing the cancer cells to penetrate them as well. It also plays a role in the formation of the new blood vessels that cancerous tumors need to survive. HYL inhibition, then, produces a particular kind of anticancer, or antitumor, action. 4) Some bacteria (
Staphylococcus aureus
,
Streptococcus
spp.,
Clostridium
spp.,
Enterococcus
spp.,
Mycobacterium
spp., etc.) create and release hyaluronidase in order to loosen the connective tissue matrix and facilitate their penetration into new areas of the body. Part of what echinacea does is to strengthen the structure of the mucous and skin membranes of the body by stopping their structural breakdown through HYL inhibition while at the same time counteracting the HYL release by bacteria. This stops the bacterial movement into the body. A number of viruses also use HYL to help them penetrate the body; this is especially true of cancer viruses. 5) Hyaluronidase is also found in some snake venoms. It increases the lethality of the venom, in part by allowing it to penetrate more easily into the body.
