Ehinacea

The plant

Echinacea purpurea is an herbaceous perennial up to 120 centimeters (47 inches) tall. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. The flower head has a domed centre of small yellow florets surrounded by a ring of pink or purple ligulate florets. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout summer into autumn.

Origin and name

The species is native to parts of eastern North America. It is most common in the Ozarks, the Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies, and barrens. The name Echinacea comes from a Greek word meaning 'spiny one', after the spiny sea urchins that the ripe flower heads resemble. The epithet purpurea means 'reddish-purple'. Carl Linnaeus named the species Rudbeckia purpurea in 1753, and in 1794 Conrad Moench placed it in the genus Echinacea.

Chemistry

The plant contains alkamides, caffeic acid derivatives, polysaccharides, and glycoproteins. Nicotiflorin is the dominant flavonoid, followed by the flavonoid rutin. A total of 87 compounds were identified in the steam-distilled flower oil. Germacrene D makes up about 42% of it, followed by α-phellandrene at about 10%, β-caryophyllene at about 6%, γ-curcumene at about 5%, α-pinene at about 4%, δ-cadinene at about 3% and β-pinene at about 2%. The leaf and root oils contain 25 and 31 identified compounds respectively. Their major compounds include germacrene D, naphthalene, caryophyllene oxide, α-phellandrene and α-cadinol.

Traditional use

Native Americans have used the plant as traditional medicine to treat many ailments. Some Plains tribes used Echinacea for cold symptoms. The Kiowa used it for coughs and sore throats, the Cheyenne for sore throats, and the Pawnee for headaches. Many tribes, including the Lakota, used it as a pain medication. Traditional use of Echinacea included chewing the roots for throat and tooth infections. Preparations of E. purpurea are among the best-selling herbal supplements.

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