The Use Of Echinacea Against COVID-19 Is Studied
A study carried out with patients from Aragon, Catalonia and Galicia will determine if the extract of echinacea is effective in reducing symptoms and avoid the complications of infection with SARS-CoV-2.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products has authorized a study to determine the efficacy of echinacea in the complementary treatment of infection by the SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
The research is being carried out by a team of Aragonese and Galician scientists, whose main objective is to discover if the medicinal plant serves to reduce the symptoms and improve the evolution of COVID-19. The study has been called ECCO-2 and is funded by the Arkopharma company.
Echinacea stimulates immunity and has antiviral effects
Echinacea ( Echinacea purpurea ) is a plant of North American origin with a modulating effect on the immune system. It has traditionally been used to treat colds and flu and as an immunity booster.
The researchers hope that echinacea will be effective and that the properties observed in previous studies will be confirmed. For example, research conducted in Switzerland and published in the Virology Journal found that the extract had a direct antiviral effect on SARS-CoV-2.
The main hypothesis of the study is that the extract of Echinacea purpurea could be effective in reducing sick days, the risk of admission and even in improving its evolution, reducing some of the later complications associated with persistent COVID 19.
If the Spanish research confirms expectations, supplementation with echinacea could be a simple, inexpensive and safe option to treat the disease from the moment the first symptoms appear.
A treatment to fight the disease from the beginning
“At present, we do not have any treatment to address COVID-19 at the beginning of the infection, all are indicated when the disease has advanced a lot”, says one of the authors of the trial, Dr. Jesús Requena, researcher at the Singular Center of Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
In the clinical trial, which is carried out with the maximum scientific rigor (prospective multicenter, controlled, randomized and double-blind), patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed with PCR test or rapid antigen test have been included.
Patients from various Spanish populations participate
The evolution of the patients, who have been recruited in Coruña, Santiago, Zaragoza, Huesca and Lleida, will be followed by more than 30 doctors for 4 weeks.
The work is supported by the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute, the Aragonese Health Service and the Galician Health Service. The Arkopharma company provides the echinacea extract.
Scientific references:
- Johanna Signer et al. In vitro virucidal activity of Echinaforce®, an Echinacea purpurea preparation, against coronaviruses, including common cold coronavirus 229E and SARS-CoV-2. Virology Journal.
