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| toration of normal bodily functions, usually in the areas of digestion, assimilation and elimination. Detoxification and cleansing therapies have always been a cornerstone of many systems of natural health care. As the alterative herbs were widely used in these therapies, alteratives became commonly known as ''blood purifiers,'' although in actuality this is somewhat of a misnomer. |
| Some of the primary indications for using echinacea as an alterative are for the treatment of a wide variety of skin conditions including weeping eczema, boils, herpes simplex, some forms of hives and certain types of acne. Singularly, or in combination with other alterative herbs, echinacea is very effective for these conditions, especially when used internally as well as externally as a wash, as previously described. The pharmacological mechanisms associated with some of these alterative actions have been discussed and include echinacea's ability to stimulate phagocytosis, specifically through the Kuppfer cells of the liver, its direct and indirect antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities, its ability to increase the resistance of connective tissue against the invasion of pathogenic microbes, and its ability to stimulate the regeneration of tissue. |
| Antimicrobial Activity |
| The antibacterial activity of echinacea was first identified in the 1950s. It was found that the caffeic acid derivative known as echinacoside, possessing mild antibiotic properties,47 was predominantly responsible for this action. Subsequent to this initial research, other compounds from E. purpurea and E. angusti- |
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