Echinacea: Growing, Harvesting and Using

In the Midwest we call Echinacea purpurea, the coneflower and it can grow anywhere, where it is unkempt.
Promoters of Echinacea say that the herb encourages the immune system and reduces many of the symptoms of colds, flu and some other illnesses, infections and conditions. 

Echinacea has a complex mix of active substances, some of which are said to be antimicrobial, while others are believed to possibly have an effect on the human immune system.

All species of this herbal remedy have compounds called phenols. Many plants contain phenols, active substances which control the activity of a range of enzymes and cell receptors, and protect the plant from infections and UV radiation damage. Phenols have high antioxidant properties, which are good for human health.

Echinacea also contains alkylamides or alkamides, (not in E. pallida), which have an effect on the immune system.

Echinacea also contains polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and caffeic acid derivatives.
Studies have produced conflicting results as to the benefits of echinacea. Echinacea is used by people today for: Acid indigestion, Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Chronic fatigue syndrome, Diphtheria,
Dizziness, Genital herpes, Gum disease, Malaria, Migraines, Pain, Rattlesnake bites, Rheumatism, Septicemia - Bloodstream infections, Streptococcus infections, Syphilis, Flu, Tonsillitis, Typhoid, Urinary tract infections, Vaginal yeast infections.

Lovely in the garden and useful for treating common ailments, Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are one plant your herb garden shouldn't be without. They belong to the plant family of Asteraceae which includes all of the thousands of species of asters, daisies, and sunflowers. Even with all of these relatives, Echinacea has a prominent place as an herb that is commonly grown in home herb gardens for beauty as well as usefulness.

Extensive testing has been done in Europe, especially Germany, where Echinacea is used to enhance the immune system and as a boost for fighting infection. It is also used elevate mood. Although there has been some controversy in the US medical community over whether the Echinacea claims are legitimate, those who have experienced the results do not doubt.

Echinacea is easy to grow. It prefers full sun, but will tolerate light shade. Rich soil will produce plants that are quite large, as tall as 5 feet or so, but it also grows well in less fertile soil. Plants are sensitive to too much water, and they should be planted where there is good drainage and little chance of puddling around the roots. An easy way to grow Echinacea is to give it an area of the garden and just allow it to reseed and grow as wildflowers. If you plant from seeds, you can plant them very early, about the same time you plant peas.

All parts of the plant are useful. The top growth should be harvested just before the flower buds open by cutting the stems just above the first or second pair of full green leaves. (It is normal to have a few dead leaves at the base of the plant.) Make a good, clean cut and new growth will emerge for another harvest. Kitchen shears are a handy way to just snip off the top growth. Wash the herb by gathering a small handful of stems and swishing them gently in water. Then tie them into bundles and hang them up to dry, or spread them out on a screen to dry. As with all herbs, keep them out of direct sunlight and leave plenty of room for air circulation. The leaves will crumble easily when they are completely dry. A dehydrator may also be used for quicker drying or in humid climates; use the lowest heat setting.

Roots should be harvested in the fall when the top growth has been killed by hard frost. If there are seed heads on the plants, distribute them on the ground if you want additional plants the next year. Harvest roots from well-established plants. Removing root growth from plants younger than 3-4 years may result in killing the plant. To harvest Echinacea roots, lift the plant and tip it back using a garden fork. Use a very sharp knife and clean-cut the portions of root that you want to harvest. Be sure to leave enough root to sustain the plant. A good rule of thumb is to harvest about 20% of root if you intend to make annual harvests. Replace the plant, firm the soil around the disturbed roots, and replace the mulch for the winter.

Prepare Echinacea roots by washing them completely. Cut them into pieces about 1/2 inch or so in size to shorten drying time. Smaller pieces are also not as likely to mold during drying. Hang the pieces in netting or cheesecloth bags to dry, or spread them out on a screen. A dehydrator will dry roots with a minimum risk of mold; always use the lowest heat setting and check the dehydrator often.

To make a light and flavorful tea from the dried flowers and leaves, use 2 teaspoons of dried herb and one cup of boiling water. Steep for 15 minutes and strain the tea. Add honey or lemon as desired.

Roots are used to brew a decoction, which is a stronger tasting liquid that is more potent. To brew a decoction, use 2 teaspoons of dried root with one cup of water and simmer them together in a tightly covered pot on very low heat for 30 - 60 minutes. The simmer time can be reduced if the root is ground or chopped into smaller pieces. (Be sure to use a tight-fitting lid so the water won't boil away.) Strain the liquid and it's ready to drink; add honey or lemon to taste. This stronger version is recommended as a dose for treating a cold or infection.

• The traditional Echinacea angustifolia was used extensively by Native Americans. This variety grows to 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide, and is covered with smaller 2 inch pink or purple blossoms.
  Mainly the root of this plant is used medicinally.

Sources:
Personal experience and love of gardening
http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/herbs/coneflower.asp

Flu in pregnancy may quadruple child’s risk for bipolar disorder

Pregnant mothers’ exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked to prenatal exposure to influenza.

“Prospective mothers should take common sense preventive measures, such as getting flu shots prior to and in the early stages of pregnancy and avoiding contact with people who are symptomatic,” said Alan Brown, M.D., M.P.H, of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, a grantee of the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). “In spite of public health recommendations, only a relatively small fraction of such women get immunized. The weight of evidence now suggests that benefits of the vaccine likely outweigh any possible risk to the mother or newborn.”

Brown and colleagues reported their findings online May 8, 2013 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Although there have been hints of a maternal influenza/bipolar disorder connection, the new study is the first to prospectively follow families in the same HMO, using physician-based diagnoses and structured standardized psychiatric measures. Access to unique Kaiser-Permanente, county and Child Health and Development Study  databases made it possible to include more cases with detailed maternal flu exposure information than in previous studies.

Among nearly a third of all children born in a northern California county during 1959-1966, researchers followed 92 who developed bipolar disorder, comparing rates of maternal flu diagnoses during pregnancy with 722 matched controls.

The nearly fourfold increased risk implicated influenza infection at any time during pregnancy, but there was evidence suggesting slightly higher risk if the flu occurred during the second or third trimesters. Moreover, the researchers linked flu exposure to a nearly sixfold increase in a subtype of bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

A previous study, by Brown and colleagues, in a related northern California sample, found a threefold increased risk for schizophrenia associated with maternal influenza during the first half of pregnancy. Autism has similarly been linked to first trimester maternal viral infections and to possibly related increases in inflammatory molecules.

This colorized transmission electron micrograph shows H1N1 influenza virus particles. Surface proteins on the virus particles are shown in black. Source: NIAID.

“Future research might investigate whether this same environmental risk factor might give rise to different disorders, depending on how the timing of the prenatal insult affects the developing fetal brain,” suggested Brown.

Bipolar disorder shares with schizophrenia a number of other suspected causes and illness features, the researchers note. For example, both share onset of symptoms in early adulthood, susceptibility genes, run in the same families, affect nearly one percent of the population, show psychotic behaviors and respond to antipsychotic medications.

Increasing evidence of such overlap between traditional diagnostic categories has led to the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project, which is laying the foundation for a new mental disorders classification system based on brain circuits and dimensional mechanisms that cut across traditional diagnostic categories.

The research was also funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visit http://www.nimh.nih.gov.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s website athttp://www.nichd.nih.gov/.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visitwww.nih.gov.