Echinacea angustifolia was widely used by the North American Plains Indians for its general medicinal qualities.

In addition, Dr. Murray said " the standard dosage for dried Echinacea angustifolia root is normally three grams per day or more and this study used less than one gram.

Echinacea has also been linked to rare allergic reactions, including asthma, shortness of breath, and one case of anaphylaxis.

As a matter of manufacturing safety, one investigation by an independent consumer testing laboratory found that five of eleven selected retail Echinacea products failed quality testing.

Rudbeckia is one of at least four genera within the flowering plant family Asteraceae whose members are commonly known as coneflowers ; the others are Echinacea, Dracopis and Ratibida.

A 2007 study by the University of Connecticut combined findings from 14 previously reported trials examining Echinacea and concluded that Echinacea can cut the chances of catching a cold by more than half, and shorten the duration of a cold by an average of 1. 4 days.

The European Medicines Agency ( EMEA ) assessed the body of evidence and approved the use of expressed juice and dried expressed juice from fresh flowering aerial parts of Echinacea purpurea for the short-term prevention and treatment of the common cold.

Underside of a Danaus plexippus plexippus feeding on nectar from an Echinacea purpurea flower

from Dutch wikipedia ; see: nl: Image: Echinacea pupurea. JPG.

The common Cone Flower ( Echinacea purpurea ) from a cultivated garden variety.

There is some evidence that preparations based on the aerial parts of Echinacea purpurea might be effective for the early treatment of colds in adults but results are not fully consistent.

" According to Dr. Murray, none of the three extracts used on the 399 study participants contained all three of the components of Echinacea responsible for its immune-enhancing effects: polysaccharides, alkylamides and cichoric acid.

Muscle and joint pain has been associated with Echinacea, but it may have been caused by cold or flu symptoms for which the Echinacea products were administered.

There have been no case reports of any drug interactions with Echinacea and " the currently available evidence suggests that echinacea is unlikely to pose serious health threats for patients combining it with conventional drugs.

However, a 2007 review states that, " Complementary and alternative therapies ( i. e., Echinacea, vitamin C, and zinc ) are not recommended for treating common cold symptoms ... Vitamin C prophylaxis may modestly reduce the duration and severity of the common cold in the general population and may reduce the incidence of the illness in persons exposed to physical and environmental stresses.

Beneficial effects of other Echinacea preparations, and for preventative purposes might exist but have not been shown in independently replicated, rigorous randomized trials.

Echinacea () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae.

Echinacea species are herbaceous, drought-tolerant perennial plants growing up to ( 140 cm or possibly 4 feet, reference needed ) in height.

The generic name Echinacea is rooted in the Greek word ἐχῖνος ( echinos ), meaning sea urchin, it references the spiky appearance and feel of the flower heads.

Echinacea plants also reseed in the fall.

Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service are using DNA analysis to help determine the number of Echinacea species.

The research concluded that of the 40 genetically diverse populations of Echinacea studied, there were nine distinct species.

Multiple scientific reviews and meta-analyses have evaluated the published peer reviewed literature on the immunological effects of Echinacea.

Reviews of the medicinal effects of Echinacea are often complicated by the inclusion of these different products.

Echinacea is popularly believed to be an immunostimulator, stimulating the body's non-specific immune system and warding off infections and also being used as a laxative.

When taken by mouth, Echinacea does not usually cause side effects.

One of the most extensive and systematic studies to review the safety of Echinacea products concluded that overall, " adverse events are rare, mild and reversible ," with the most common symptoms being " gastrointestinal and skin-related.

When they were closer and he saw that one was a woman, he was more puzzled than ever.

Morgan hesitated, thinking that if this was a trick, it was a good one.

There was no one but me.

The pony herd was the one flaw in our defense ; ;

Next to him was a young boy I was sure had sat near me at one of the trading sessions.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and went down on one knee, taking her weight so that some of the wind was driven out of him.

There was only one place where Jake Carwood's description had gone badly awry: the peace and quiet.

The town was about what Wilson expected: one main street with its rows of false-fronted buildings, a water tower, a few warehouses, a single hotel ; ;

only the counter at one end was lighted by a long fluorescent tube suspended directly above it.

In the mornings, I was informed, fluorescent tubes, similar to the one above the counter, illuminated the entire hall.

No one was behind it, but in the rear wall of the office I noticed, for the first time, a door which had been left partially open.

The one thing they had in common was their hatred.

When they reached their neighbor's house, Pamela said a few polite words to Grace and kissed Melissa lightly on the forehead, the impulse prompted by a stray thought -- of the type to which she was frequently subject these days -- that they might never see one another again.

There was only one place where the mountain might receive her -- that unnamed, unnameable pool harbored in its secret bosom.

But she was caught in it, and she faced the terrible possibility that, if it were a dream, it was one from which she might never awaken.

That was another one of those traps.

At one and the same time, she was within it but still searching for the drawbridge that would give her entry.

All the doors were open at this hour except one, and it was toward this that Stevens made his way with Russ close at his shoulder.

An Ah coudn ansuh him an so Ah said ' Aw right, Ah gay-ess, an his fathuh didn uttuh one wohd an aftuh Huhmun was gone, the majuh laughed an tole me thet he an the bawh had been hevin an occasional drink t'gethuh f'ovuh a yeah, onleh an occasional one, but just the same it was behahn mah back, an Ah doan think thet's nahce at all, d'you ''??