The Effect Echinacea Purpurea Herbs in Reducing Symptoms of Upper Respiratory Infection: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Echinacea possibly reduces the effectiveness of corticosteroids, commonly used by asthmatics and for treating viral induced wheeze, and can cause hypersensitivity reactions in susceptible individuals. Treatment of the common cold in children with Echinacea has only been investigated in one randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial to examine the efficacy and safety of Echinacea purpurea in children with upper respiratory tract infections. This study aimed to investigate the effect Echinacea purpurea herbs in reducing symptoms of upper respiratory infection. Subjects and Method: This was meta-analysis and systematic review. The study was conducted by collecting published articles from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. The study subject was adults with upper respiratory infection. Intervention was Echinecea purpurea herbs extract with comparison placebo. The study outcome was decreased symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. The inclusion criteria were full text, using English language, and using randomized controlled trial. The collected articles were selected by PRISMA flow chart. The quantitative data were analyzed using Revman 5.3 Results: A meta-analysis using 6 studies from United States resulted high heterogeneity between experimental groups (I2= 98%; p<0.001), so it conducted by random effect model (REM). This study showed that provision of Echinecea purpurea herbs extract reduced symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection than placebo (Mean Difference= -0.56; 95% CI= -0.91 to -0.22; p= 0.001). Conclusion: Echinecea purpurea herbs extract reduced symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection than placebo. Keywords: Echinacea purpurea herbs extract, upper respirstory infection Correspondence: Riska Fajar Fatony. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: respatieka10@gmail.com. Mobile: +6289508588008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.05.58