Study undermines herbal treatment
28 Jul 2005
New research in the US indicates that the herbal remedy echinacea is not an effective treatment for, or preventer of, the common cold. A team at the University of Virginia concludes from a study of about 400 volunteers, researchers that echinacea neither prevents a cold nor eases symptoms. Study leader Dr Ronald Turner says claims of benefit to the use of echinacea “should be viewed with skepticism, and the burden of proof should now be on the folks that think it works” he added. His team’s results appear in the July 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.