Does Echinacea Work?

Echinacea is one of the world's most popular herbal supplements, but many of its most popular uses are unproven. If you are interested in using echinacea to prevent or treat a medical condition, you may find yourself asking, "Does echinacea work?"

The answer to this question will depend on how you define "work." While echinacea indeed "works" in some capacities, some of its uses are unproven or even disproven. Here's an overview of the amount of evidence supporting common uses for echinacea.

What Echinacea Probably Works For

The bulk of current scientific evidence supports echinacea's time-honored use as a treatment for the common cold in adults. Although some studies have found no benefit or only a small benefit, dozens of well-controlled trials have enabled scientists to reach the conclusion that echinacea does work in this capacity.Echinacea also works reliably as an adjunct treatment to econazole, which is used as a topical treatment for vaginal yeast infections.

What Echinacea Might Work For

There is some evidence that echinacea can treat urinary tract infections, migraines, chronic fatigue, allergies, eczema, and ADD. However, this evidence is scant or inconclusive; there isn't enough evidence to make a strong recommendation about its efficacy. There is also insufficient evidence to prove that echinacea can prevent, rather than treat, the common cold, or that it can fight influenza (flu). For now, these uses are experimental and not scientifically validated.

What Echinacea Doesn't Work For

Several clinical trials have found that echinacea does not work as a treatment for genital herpes. Whether applied topically or taken orally, echinacea does not reduce the frequency, severity or duration of herpes outbreaks. Echinacea also appears to be ineffective as a treatment for rattlesnake bites, cancer or sepsis. In these cases, you should abide by your health care provider's guidelines and use evidence-based products in your treatment regimen.