SynthesisThe Lancet. Infectious diseases2007
Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Lancet. Infectious diseases, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 45 papers, 4 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.
Multicentric Randomized Double Blind Double Dummy Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial for Assessment of Safety and Efficacy of a Echinacea/Sage Spray in Comparison to a Chlorhexidine/Lidocaine Spray in the Treatment of Acute Sore Throats
Evaluation of the Impact of the HLNatural, Inc. Immune Support Product in Reducing the Length of Cold Symptoms in Adults Suffering From the Common Cold
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Echinacea Supplementation Does Not Impact Aerobic Capacity and Erythropoiesis in Athletes: A Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Pelargonium sidoides extract for treating acute respiratory tract infections.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Common cold.BMJ clinical evidence · 2011Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Herb-drug interaction between Echinacea purpurea and etravirine in HIV-infected patients.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2012Trial
- Herb-drug interaction between Echinacea purpurea and darunavir-ritonavir in HIV-infected patients.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2011Trial
- Echinacea for treating the common cold: a randomized trial.Annals of internal medicine · 2010Trial
- Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: a randomized double-blind trial.European journal of medical research · 2009Trial
- Pharmacological Insights and Technological Innovations inPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Multi-level association rule mining and network pharmacology to identify the polypharmacological effects of herbal materials and compounds in traditional medicine.Briefings in bioinformatics · 2025Article
- Effects ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Echinacea Reduces Antibiotics by Preventing Respiratory Infections: A Meta-Analysis (ERA-PRIMA).Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Recommendations and guidelines of integrative medicine for COVID-19 care: The APEC project outcome.Integrative medicine research · 2024Article
- Immunomodulatory Effect of Phytoactive Compounds on Human Health: A Narrative Review Integrated with Bioinformatics Approach.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Nutraceuticals as Modulators of Immune Function: A Review of Potential Therapeutic Effects.Preventive nutrition and food science · 2023Review
- Novel Echinacea formulations for the treatment of acute respiratory tract infections in adults-A randomized blinded controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of EZC Pak, a 5-Day Combination Echinacea-Zinc-Vitamin C Dose Pack with or without Vitamin D, in the Management of Outpatient Upper Respiratory Infections.Infection and drug resistance · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Echinacea is one of the most commonly used herbal products, but controversy exists about its benefit in the prevention and treatment of the common cold. Thus, we did a meta-analysis evaluating the effect of echinacea on the incidence and duration of the common cold. 14 unique studies were included in the meta-analysis. Incidence of the common cold was reported as an odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI, and duration of the common cold was reported as the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% CI. Weighted averages and mean differences were calculated by a random-effects model (DerSimonian-Laird methodology). Heterogeneity was assessed by the Q statistic and review of L'Abbé plots, and publication bias was assessed through the Egger weighted regression statistic and visual inspection of funnel plots. Echinacea decreased the odds of developing the common cold by 58% (OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.25-0.71; Q statistic p<0.001) and the duration of a cold by 1.4 days (WMD -1.44, -2.24 to -0.64; p=0.01). Similarly, significant reductions were maintained in subgroup analyses limited to Echinaguard/Echinacin use, concomitant supplement use, method of cold exposure, Jadad scores less than 3, or use of a fixed-effects model. Published evidence supports echinacea's benefit in decreasing the incidence and duration of the common cold.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.