Echinacea may help fight common colds

The most recent study by researchers at University of Connecticut should add to the confusion over the herbal supplement echinacea’s ability to fight the common cold. Derived from the purple coneflower, echinacea may reduce the chances of catching a cold and shorten the length of a cold.

Examining the results of 14 independent studies involving 1,600 patients, the university researchers, reporting in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that echinacea decreased the odds of developing the common cold by 58 percent and the duration of a cold by 1.4 days. A 2005 study of 400 patients reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that echinacea had no impact on colds.

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For more: Craig Coleman, University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, (860) 545 2096; www.sciencedirect.com.