SynthesisDrug safety2005
The safety of herbal medicinal products derived from Echinacea species: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Drug safety, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2007Pooled it
- Echinacea for treating the common cold: a randomized trial.Annals of internal medicine · 2010Trial
- From Phytochemical Diversity to Clinical Translation: Preparation-Dependent Bioactivity ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- An open-label pilot study on an adsorbent mousse containing adelmidrol in client-owned cats with feline atopic skin syndrome and associated seborrhoea.Veterinary dermatology · 2025Article
- Safety Aspects of Herb Interactions: Current Understanding and Future Prospects.Current drug metabolism · 2024Review
- Safety profile of herbal medicines submitted for marketing authorization in Tanzania: a cross-sectional retrospective study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Herbal Medicines on Lung Function in Asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2023Review
- Plant Secondary Metabolites against Skin Photodamage: Mexican Plants, a Potential Source of UV-Radiation Protectant Molecules.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Evaluation of the efficacy ofDental research journal · 2022Article
- Antimicrobial Effects ofNutrients · 2021Article
- CanHeliyon · 2021Review
- Safety and Dose-Dependent Effects ofChildren (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Immunomodulators Inspired by Nature: A Review on Curcumin and Echinacea.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- Commonly Used Dietary Supplements on Coagulation Function during Surgery.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2015Article
- Nutrient- and non-nutrient-based natural health product (NHP) use in adults with mood disorders: prevalence, characteristics and potential for exposure to adverse events.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2013Article
- Adverse effects of herbal medicines: an overview of systematic reviews.Clinical medicine (London, England) · 2013Review
- Health beliefs, treatment preferences and complementary and alternative medicine for asthma, smoking and lung cancer self-management in diverse Black communities.Patient education and counseling · 2012Review
- Do herbal medicines have potential for managing snake bite envenomation?Toxicology international · 2012Article
- Randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of echinacea supplementation in air travellers.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Echinacea spp. are native to North America and were traditionally used by the Indian tribes for a variety of ailments, including mouth sores, colds and snake-bites. The three most commonly used Echinacea spp. are E. angustifolia, E. pallida and E. purpurea. Systematic literature searches were conducted in six electronic databases and the reference lists of all of the papers located were checked for further relevant publications. Information was also sought from the spontaneous reporting programmes of the WHO and national drug safety bodies. Twenty-three manufacturers of echinacea were contacted and asked for data held on file. Finally our own departmental files were searched. No language restrictions were imposed. Combination products and homeopathic preparations were excluded. Data from clinical studies and spontaneous reporting programmes suggest that adverse events with echinacea are not commonly reported. Gastrointestinal upsets and rashes occur most frequently. However, in rare cases, echinacea can be associated with allergic reactions that may be severe. Although there is a large amount of data that investigates the efficacy of echinacea, safety issues and the monitoring of adverse events have not been focused on. Short-term use of echinacea is associated with a relatively good safety profile, with a slight risk of transient, reversible, adverse events. The association of echinacea with allergic reactions is supported by the present evaluation. While these reactions are likely to be rare, patients with allergy or asthma should carefully consider their use of echinacea. The use of echinacea products during pregnancy and lactation would appear to be ill-advised in light of the paucity of data in this area.
Indexed as
Identifiers
15853441What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.