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| though echinacea did not cure her mother, it eased her pain and prolonged her life. She was very grateful for having had the medicine available.10 |
| Thus, Dr. King was convinced of echinacea's value, incorporated it into his practice, and corresponded with other physicians who used it. In 1887, King wrote an article for the Eclectic Medical Journal in which he stated, "Should echinacea be found to contain only one-half of the virtues attributed to it by Dr. Meyer, it will form an important addition to our materia medica." This was the official introduction of echinacea to the Eclectic medical profession. Within 11 years it became a standard entry in the writings of Eclectic physicians, and within 20 years it was among the most popular of all medicinal plants used by the Eclectics. |
| In the 1905 edition of the now classic American Dispensatory by Dr. King, echinacea was reported to be useful for all conditions associated with septicemia (blood poisoning), including gangrene, weeping sores and ulcers, inflammation, cerebrospinal meningitis, and externally as an antiseptic.10 Another Eclectic physician, Dr. H.T. Webster, used it successfully to prevent convulsions associated with spinal meningitis, and on several occasions used it successfully to prevent the development of rabies and as a treatment against snake bites. In addition, Dr. Webster used it to treat fevers, measles and syphilis as well as to resolve skin conditions such as boils, abscesses and gangrene.11 John Uzi reported that Echinacea was the most widely used American drug since 1885. Many considered that E. angustifolia and E. pallida could be used interchangeably and used echinacea for a variety of conditions. At this time, an eight ounce bottle of echinacea extract cost $1.40.9 Its clinical |
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