Echinacea
Common name
echinacea, purple coneflower, coneflower, American coneflower,Pale Coneflower,Purple Coneflower,Narrow-leaved coneflower root,Purple Coneflower Herb
ID
HD0024
Scientific name of the plant
Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida
Anatomical part for use
root, above-ground part
Human use
Skin disorders & minor wounds,Cough and cold
Summary
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are found only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος (ekhinos), meaning "sea urchin", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Echinacea purpurea is used in traditional medicine. Two of the species, E. tennesseensis and E. laevigata, are listed in the United States as endangered species. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 4 (Individual reports repeated observed over 5 years among different countries)
Hepatotoxicity reports in literature
Hepatotoxicity Description
In multiple controlled trials, echinacea by itself has not been linked to liver injury, either in the form of transient serum enzyme elevations or clinically apparent acute liver injury. Nevertheless, there have been isolated case reports of clinically apparent liver injury with jaundice, and summary reports from national registries of adverse reactions have reported elevated serum aminotransferase levels and toxic hepatitis attributed to echinacea. Few details of the liver injury were available but in two published reports, hepatitis with jaundice arose 1 to 3 weeks after starting echinacea extracts with mild jaundice, prominent
ALT
and
AST
elevations and rapid and complete recovery on stopping.
Autoimmune features
were present in one case, but neither case had features of hypersensitivity (fever, rash, lymphadenopathy or eosinophilia). Because of the variability in the constituents of echinacea products, it is unclear whether the cases were due to a particular species or method of preparation or contamination of the product. (Source: LiverTox)
Common name
echinacea, purple coneflower, coneflower, American coneflower,Pale Coneflower,Purple Coneflower,Narrow-leaved coneflower root,Purple Coneflower Herb
ID
HD0024
Scientific name of the plant
Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida
Anatomical part for use
root, above-ground part
Human use
Skin disorders & minor wounds,Cough and cold
Summary
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are found only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος (ekhinos), meaning "sea urchin", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Echinacea purpurea is used in traditional medicine. Two of the species, E. tennesseensis and E. laevigata, are listed in the United States as endangered species. (Source: Wiki)
Evidence Level
Level 4 (Individual reports repeated observed over 5 years among different countries)
Hepatotoxicity reports in literature
Hepatotoxicity Description
In multiple controlled trials, echinacea by itself has not been linked to liver injury, either in the form of transient serum enzyme elevations or clinically apparent acute liver injury. Nevertheless, there have been isolated case reports of clinically apparent liver injury with jaundice, and summary reports from national registries of adverse reactions have reported elevated serum aminotransferase levels and toxic hepatitis attributed to echinacea. Few details of the liver injury were available but in two published reports, hepatitis with jaundice arose 1 to 3 weeks after starting echinacea extracts with mild jaundice, prominent ALT and AST elevations and rapid and complete recovery on stopping. Autoimmune features were present in one case, but neither case had features of hypersensitivity (fever, rash, lymphadenopathy or eosinophilia). Because of the variability in the constituents of echinacea products, it is unclear whether the cases were due to a particular species or method of preparation or contamination of the product. (Source: LiverTox)