| Echinaceapurpureais one of the most common plant that is usedas anherbalsupplement. Echinacea purpurea’sabilitytoboostthe human immunesystem has been widelydiscussedandstudied sincea dozen years ago. Echinaceapurpureacontains many substancessuch as carbohydrates, fattyacids, alkilamides, flavonoids, phytosterols, cafeic andtartaric acid derivatives, polysaccharides(heteroksilan andarabinogalactan), lipoprotein, isobutylamides, andpolyacetylene. Variousstudies have beendeveloped and given different resultson its effectivenesstoenhance thehuman immunesystem. Therefore,Echinacea purpurea’sabilitiesandactivitiesinthe human immunesystem are questionable. Fromthe results ofthe literaturestudyconducted by the author, alkylamides, polysaccharides, andcafeic acid derivativeshave been known as most widelyusedas scientific researches. Thesethreecomponentsareexpressed as the mostimportantcomponents forthe benefits ofEchinaceapurpurea.Alkylamidesstimulatephagocytosisandactas an anti-inflammatory by inhibitinginflammatory mediators. Polysaccharidesinducemacrophagesto secreteandstimulate the production ofcytokines and macrophagephagocytosis, also increaseNKcell activities. Cafeic acid derivativeshelpthe functions of alkylamidesanduntil now,nobenefits have been reported whenworkingsingle- handedly. Based on the evidences,Echinaceapurpureacould be an additionaltherapeuticoptionas apreventive way of disease. |