Evaluation of Echinacea for the Common Cold

This study has been completed.

Sponsor:

Information provided by:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT00032500

First received: March 22, 2002

Last updated: August 17, 2006

Last verified: July 2006

History of Changes

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine whether three Echinacea preparations with different chemical compositions are effective for prevention or treatment of the common cold.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Common Cold	Drug: Echinacea	Phase 2

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Double-Blind Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title:	Evaluation of Echinacea in a Human Rhinovirus Challenge

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Common Cold

Drug Information available for: Echinacea

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM):

Study Start Date:	September 2001
Estimated Study Completion Date:	May 2004

Detailed Description:

Echinacea is a widely used herbal remedy for the common cold. Previous clinical trials designed to assess the efficacy of Echinacea for prevention or treatment of the common cold have produced inconsistent results. A variety of different Echinacea products have been used in these clinical trials. Recent studies indicate that different Echinacea preparations have dramatically different phytochemical profiles. The available clinical trial data provide no information about the potential role of the different constituents of Echinacea in common cold prevention or treatment. Our hypothesis is that the variation in reported clinical effectiveness may be due to differences in the phytochemical profile of the Echinacea preparations used. This study will address the following specific aims: 1) Evaluate the effectiveness of chemically defined extracts of E. angustifolia root which contain alkamides, echinacoside or polysaccharidelglycoprotein for common cold prevention or treatment; 2) Assess the correlation between specific Echinacea metabolites in serum and nasal secretions and efficacy for prevention and treatment of colds; and 3) Determine the effect of different Echinacea preparations on the host response to rhinovirus infection.

Eligibility

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00032500

Locations

United States, Virginia
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, 22904

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

Investigators

Principal Investigator:	Ronald B. Turner, MD	University of Virginia School of Medicine
Investigator:	J. David Gangemi, PhD	Clemson University
Investigator:	Rudolf Bauer, PhD	Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz

More Information

Publications:

Turner RB, Bauer R, Woelkart K, Hulsey TC, Gangemi JD. An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections. N Engl J Med. 2005 Jul 28;353(4):341-8.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00032500 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	R01 AT001146-01
Study First Received:	March 22, 2002
Last Updated:	August 17, 2006
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM):

common cold
Echinacea

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Common Cold
Picornaviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections

Virus Diseases
Respiratory Tract Infections
Respiratory Tract Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on June 18, 2013

To Top