Top quality echinacea extract benefits

Root extract from 3 top quality echinacea extract benefits species showed concentration- and time-dependent induction of apoptosis in human pancreatic and colon cancer cell lines.
Animal data
In mice, the mean survival age was prolonged and thymic lymphoma enlargement suppressed with 8 weeks of echinacea therapy, while other experiments have demonstrated elevated natural killer cell levels and prolonged survival times in leukemic mice.Dietary supplementation with E. purpurea in rats undergoing experimental irradiation resulted in the mobilization and enhancement of vitamin E–mediated oxidation/reduction pathways, suggesting that echinacea may have potential as a radioprotector. However, another study in rats showed that coadministration of cadmium and echinacea lead to a concentration of cadmium in certain organs and blood. An in vitro study demonstrated that typical constituents of echinacea species applied topically were effective in the prevention and/or treatment of skin damage caused by ultraviolet/ultraviolet B radiation,and another study suggested radioprotection following oral administration of echinacea by radiology technicians.Clinical data
In a trial investigating the effects of an IV-administered polysaccharide fraction of high quality coneflower perennial plants among patients with advanced gastric cancer, increases in the median number of leukocytes was demonstrated; however, the differences were not considered clinically relevant.Another study involvingpatients with tumors showed no effect on cytokine or leukocytes after using a preparation of E. angustifolia.
Immunomodulation