Echinacea Species Research Articles

Chemical Constituents, Quantitative Analysis and Antioxidant Activities ofEchinacea purpurea(L.) Moench andEchinacea pallida(Nutt.) Nutt.

Echinacea is valuable for its pharmaceutical, medicinal and agricultural properties. Flowers and leaves of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench and Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. were extracted with methanol, filtered, and solvents were removed by rotary evaporator to get four separate extracts. The flowers and leaves of both plants were boiled in water then extracted with ethyl acetate to achieve another four extracts. Quantifications of chemical constituents of extracts were determined by TOF-LC/MS. The main compound of methanol extracts of E. purpurea and E. pallida leaves and flowers was cichoric acid. Caffeic acid was the chief compound of water extracts of both plant leaves and flowers. The antioxidant activities including DPPH free radical scavenging, ABTS cation radical scavenging and reducing power were assayed and structure–activity relationships were postulated. Water extracts of both Echinaceae species of flowers and leaves revealed excellent antioxidant activities. Practical Applications Echinacea, which is a medicinal and aromatic plant, has been used for traditional medicine in many countries. The water extract of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench and Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. exhibited excellent antioxidant activities; therefore, these Echinacea species can be used as natural agents in food and pharmaceutical industries.

An intergeneric sunflower line produced after cross Helianthus annuus × Echinacea purpurea

One intergeneric hybrid line involving cultivated sunflower line HA89 and wild medicinal species Echinacea purpurea was developed through conventional cross. The line was a BC1F8 progeny. Morphological and biochemical studies were conducted to establish its hybridism. The most remarkable feature of the plants was greatly reduced number of leaves and stature, resulting in a semi-dwarf growth habit. All the hybrid plants, though morphologically distinct, were intermediate phenotypically between its parents with a stronger resemblance to Helianthus annuus with respect to whole habit. The line was non-branched (monocephalic) without anthocyanin pigmentation and possessed good agronomic characteristics. Biochemical analysis of the HAEPLNL hybrid line revealed that the total phenolic content was under-expressed while the flavonoids and the water soluble antioxidant capacity were over-expressed as compared to both parents. The overall characteristics of HAEPLNL line make it a useful plant material for research on wide hybridization.

Morphological features of leaves in the genus Echinacea Moench under introduction.

The comparative morphological characteristics of leaves of the genus Echinacea representatives (E. pallida (Nutt.) Nutt and E. tennesseensis (Beadle) Small) introduced in the O.V. Fomin Botanical Garden are given. The established morphological features allow determining the adaptive capacities of species of the genus Echinacea ex situ. Despite of taxonomical belonging, the leaves of basal formation are most developed. Studied features could be applied during the implementation of these plants in pharmaceutical industry. Also these features could be useful during further investigations of adaptive possibilities of Echinacea species in ex situ conditions.

Effect of Rhizosphere Enzymes on Phytoremediation in PAH-Contaminated Soil Using Five Plant Species

A pot experiment was performed to study the effectiveness of remediation using different plant species and the enzyme response involved in remediating PAH-contaminated soil. The study indicated that species Echinacea purpurea, Festuca arundinacea Schred, Fire Phoenix (a combined F. arundinacea), and Medicago sativa L. possess the potential for remediation in PAH-contaminated soils. The study also determined that enzymatic reactions of polyphenol oxidase (except Fire Phoenix), dehydrogenase (except Fire Phoenix), and urease (except Medicago sativa L.) were more prominent over cultivation periods of 60d and 120d than 150d. Urease activity of the tested species exhibited prominently linear negative correlations with alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content after the tested plants were cultivated for 150d (R2 = 0.9592). The experiment also indicated that alkaline phosphatase activity in four of the five tested species (Echinacea purpurea, Callistephus chinensis, Festuca arundinacea Schred and Fire Phoenix) was inhibited during the cultivation process (at 60d and 120d). At the same time, the study determined that the linear relationship between alkaline phosphatase activity and effective phosphorus content in plant rhizosphere soil exhibited a negative correlation after a growing period of 120d (R2 = 0.665). Phytoremediation of organic contaminants in the soil was closely related to specific characteristics of particular plant species, and the catalyzed reactions were the result of the action of multiple enzymes in the plant rhizosphere soil.

Hyperspectral imaging and chemometric modeling of echinacea - a novel approach in the quality control of herbal medicines.

Echinacea species are popularly included in various formulations to treat upper respiratory tract infections. These products are of commercial importance, with a collective sales figure of $132 million in 2009. Due to their close taxonomic alliance it is difficult to distinguish between the three Echinacea species and incidences of incorrectly labeled commercial products have been reported. The potential of hyperspectral imaging as a rapid quality control method for raw material and products containing Echinacea species was investigated. Hyperspectral images of root and leaf material of authentic Echinacea species (E. angustifolia, E. pallida and E. purpurea) were acquired using a sisuChema shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral pushbroom imaging system with a spectral range of 920–2514 nm. Principal component analysis (PCA) plots showed a clear distinction between the root and leaf samples of the three Echinacea species and further differentiated the roots of different species. A classification model with a high coefficient of determination was constructed to predict the identity of the species included in commercial products. The majority of products (12 out of 20) were convincingly predicted as containing E. purpurea, E. angustifolia or both. The use of ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) in the differentiation of the species presented a challenge due to chemical similarities between the solvent extracts. The results show that hyperspectral imaging is an objective and non-destructive quality control method for authenticating raw material.

Biotechnological production of caffeic acid derivatives from cell and organ cultures of Echinacea species.

Caffeic acid derivatives (CADs) are a group of bioactive compounds which are produced in Echinacea species especially Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, and Echinacea pallida. Echinacea is a popular herbal medicine used in the treatment of common cold and it is also a prominent dietary supplement used throughout the world. Caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid), caftaric acid (2-O-caffeoyltartaric acid), cichoric acid (2, 3-O-dicaffeoyltartaric acid), cynarin, and echinacoside are some of the important CADs which have varied pharmacological activities. The concentrations of these bioactive compounds are species specific and also they vary considerably with the cultivated Echinacea species due to geographical location, stage of development, time of harvest, and growth conditions. Due to these reasons, plant cell and organ cultures have become attractive alternative for the production of biomass and caffeic acid derivatives. Adventitious and hairy roots have been induced in E. pupurea and E. angustifolia, and suspension cultures have been established from flask to bioreactor scale for the production of biomass and CADs. Tremendous progress has been made in this area; various bioprocess methods and strategies have been developed for constant high-quality productivity of biomass and secondary products. This review is aimed to discuss biotechnological methods and approaches employed for the sustainable production of CADs.

A bioactivity based comparison of Echinacea purpurea extracts obtained by various processes

Echinacea species is provided as dietary supplements for various infectious and immune related disorders and has a potential role in cancer prevention. The aim of this study was to optimize the extraction of total flavonoids using different extraction methods and investigate the cytotoxic effects on various cancer cell lines (CaCo-2, MCF-7, A549, U87MG, and HeLa) and VERO (African green monkey) as a non-cancerous cell line. Box-Behnken statistical design was used to evaluate the effect of pressure (100–200bar), temperature (40–80°C) and ethanol as co-solvent (6–20wt%) at a flow rate of 15g/min for 60min in supercritical CO2 extraction and the effect of temperature (60–100°C), time (5–15min) and power (300–900W) in microwave-assisted extraction. Optimum extraction conditions were elicited as 300bar, 80°C and 13% co-solvent yielding 0.472mg rutin equivalent total flavonoids/g extract in SC-CO2 extraction, whereas 60°C, 10min and 300W yielded the highest (0.202mg rutin equivalent) total flavonoids in microwave-assisted extraction. Additional trials with subcritical water (0.022mg/g) and Soxhlet extraction with methanol (0.238mg/g) yielded lower flavonoid contents. The exposures upto 50μg/ml of extracts revealed no significant inhibition on the proliferation of both tested cancer cells and healthy VERO cells.

Isolation, characterization and antimicrobial activity characterization of endophitic bacterial communities from Echinacea species: identification of bioactive molecules producing isolates from medicinal plants

Isolation, characterization and antimicrobial activity characterization of endophitic bacterial communities from Echinacea species: identification of bioactive molecules producing isolates from medicinal plants

Subtracted Diversity Array Identifies Novel Molecular Markers Including Retrotransposons for Fingerprinting Echinacea Species

Echinacea, native to the Canadian prairies and the prairie states of the United States, has a long tradition as a folk medicine for the Native Americans. Currently, Echinacea are among the top 10 selling herbal medicines in the U.S. and Europe, due to increasing popularity for the treatment of common cold and ability to stimulate the immune system. However, the genetic relationship within the species of this genus is unclear, making the authentication of the species used for the medicinal industry more difficult. We report the construction of a novel Subtracted Diversity Array (SDA) for Echinacea species and demonstrate the potential of this array for isolating highly polymorphic sequences. In order to selectively isolate Echinacea-specific sequences, a Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) was performed between a pool of twenty-four Echinacea genotypes and a pool of other angiosperms and non-angiosperms. A total of 283 subtracted genomic DNA (gDNA) fragments were amplified and arrayed. Twenty-seven Echinacea genotypes including four that were not used in the array construction could be successfully discriminated. Interestingly, unknown samples of E. paradoxa and E. purpurea could be unambiguously identified from the cluster analysis. Furthermore, this Echinacea-specific SDA was also able to isolate highly polymorphic retrotransposon sequences. Five out of the eleven most discriminatory features matched to known retrotransposons. This is the first time retrotransposon sequences have been used to fingerprint Echinacea, highlighting the potential of retrotransposons as based molecular markers useful for fingerprinting and studying diversity patterns in Echinacea.

The physiological basis for ethylene-induced dormancy release in three Echinacea species with special reference to the influence of the integumentary tapetum

Seeds of Echinacea species have endogenous physiological dormancy. Dormancy release is induced by moist chilling stratification, but seeds treated with ethylene can show increased germination comparable to stratification. The primary aims of this work were to discover whether endogenous ethylene production was required for dormancy release and germination in Echinacea seeds and to investigate the physiological basis for stratification and ethylene-induced dormancy release. There were no significant differences in ethylene production in untreated versus stratified seeds. Seeds subjected to a dormancy release treatment showed reduced sensitivity to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA). Isolated embryos were completely released from dormancy when the outer envelope surrounding the embryo was removed. Isolated embryos with the envelope intact were also induced to germinate when treated with ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) to increase ethylene production. It was determined that the covering envelope was derived from enlargement of the endothelium layer surrounding the egg sac (integumentary tapetum) plus several crushed layers of the outer integument. Ethylene does not appear to be required for dormancy release and germination in Echinacea seeds. Two possible physiological mechanisms were discovered to explain stratification and ethylene-induced dormancy release. These included a change in seed sensitivity to ABA and changes in the tissues covering the embryo. The data suggests that ethylene-induced dormancy release is independent of stratification and possibly acts by inducing physiological events that are normally downstream of stratification.

Quantification of Phenylpropanoids in Commercial Echinacea Products Using TLC with Video Densitometry as Detection Technique and ANN for Data Modelling

Echinacea preparations are among the most popular herbal remedies worldwide. Although it is generally assigned immune enhancement activities, the effectiveness of Echinacea is highly dependent on the Echinacea species, part of the plant used, the age of the plant, its location and the method of extraction. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of an artificial neural network (ANN) to analyse thin-layer chromatography (TLC) chromatograms as fingerprint patterns for quantitative estimation of three phenylpropanoid markers (chicoric acid, chlorogenic acid and echinacoside) in commercial Echinacea products. By applying samples with different weight ratios of marker compounds to the system, a database of chromatograms was constructed. One hundred and one signal intensities in each of the TLC chromatograms were correlated to the amounts of applied echinacoside, chlorogenic acid and chicoric acid using an ANN. The developed ANN correlation was used to quantify the amounts of three marker compounds in Echinacea commercial formulations. The minimum quantifiable level of 63, 154 and 98 ng and the limit of detection of 19, 46 and 29 ng were established for echinacoside, chlorogenic acid and chicoric acid respectively. A novel method for quality control of herbal products, based on TLC separation, high-resolution digital plate imaging and ANN data analysis has been developed. The method proposed can be adopted for routine evaluation of the phytochemical variability in Echinacea formulations available in the market.

Antiproliferative activity of pentadeca-(8E, 13Z) dien-11-yn-2-one and (E)-1,8-pentadecadiene from Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. roots

Several species of Echinacea, a perennial plant which belongs to the Asteraceae family, possess medicinal properties and are currently used in phytotherapy. In the present study, antiproliferative activity of methanol extract and isolated structures of pentadeca-(8E, 13Z)-dien-11-yn-2-one 1 and (E)-1,8-pentadecadiene 2 from Echinacea pallida roots on C6 cells (Rat Brain tumor cells) and HeLa cells (human uterus carcinoma) was investigated in vitro. Antiproliferative effect of the extract, isolated compounds, and cisplatin were tested at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, and 100 μg ml−1 using BrdU Cell Proliferation ELISA. The methanol extract and Compound 1 significantly inhibited proliferation of HeLa and C6 cancer cell lines.

Clonal propagation and production of cichoric acid in three species of Echinaceae

In vitro tissue culture protocols were tested for propagation of Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea angustifolia in order to obtain biomass for the production of cichoric acid, which is the major active compound in the Echinacea extracts. The in vitro culture process was initiated by seed germination on half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Multiplication was achieved on MS medium supplemented with naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 2-iso-pentenyladenine (2iP), and N6-benzyladenine (BA) in different concentrations. Shoot explants produced the highest number of shootlets on MS medium, which was supplemented with 0.1 mg/l 2iP and 0.1 mg/l IBA. RAPD markers revealed genetic polymorphism in some instances between in vitro generated plantlets such as for E. purpurea plantlets analyzed with the OPO-8 primer. RAPD markers generated with the primer 4A-29 revealed low levels of genetic variation between in vitro plantlets for all three species of Echinacea, while remaining RAPD markers revealed no variation. Content of cichoric acid in leaves, shoots, and callus was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography/MS and was identified in all studied samples, independent of species or tissue type. Highest levels (0.39–0.73 mg/g dw) were observed in shoots and leaves.

Abstract A5: Cytotoxic Extracts of Ethnomedicinal Plants: Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) and Echinacea angustifolia

Abstract Phytochemical and other natural compounds are historically established as cures for many ailments in rural America and other developing countries. Our lab is testing plants that show potential for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. The family Asteraceae and the family Berberidacae are very well known for their values as medicinal plants. More specifically, the genus species Echinacea angustifolia and genus species Podophyllum peltatum commonly known as the Mayapple, both are noted for their unique medicinal purposes. The crude methanol extracts of these plants were tested against human metastatic cell lines representing breast (MCF-7), (BT-549) and colon (SW620) tissues. Trypan blue exclusion is used to determine viable cell counts. Alamar BlueTM and florescent analysis were used to evaluate the cytoxicity of the extracts. Analysis of the crude extracts of Echinacea angustifolia has shown on MCF-7, BT-549, and SW620 that most of them exhibit anticancer activity against the cell lines at the maximum concentration of 200 μg/mL. In particular, less diluted concentrations have demonstrated exceptional inhibitory effects with IC50 values ranging between 0.10–15 μg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, analysis of the crude extracts of Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) has shown on MCF-7, BT-549 and SW620 some anticancer activity against cell lines at the maximum concentration of 200 μg/mL. More specifically, the more diluted concentrations have demonstrated exceptional growth inhibition with IC50 values ranging between 2–8 μg/mL Citation Format: Olena T. James, E. Lewis Myles. Cytotoxic Extracts of Ethnomedicinal Plants: Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) and Echinacea angustifolia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer; 2012 Jan 8-11; Miami Beach, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A5.

Differential physiological and biochemical responses of three Echinacea species to salinity stress

The physiological and biochemical responses of the three Echinacea species, Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea pallida and Echinacea angustifolia were evaluated in response to NaCl salinity (0, 50, 75 and 100mM) under hydroponic cultivation. Growth, injury index, gas exchange, ion accumulation, pigment content, electrolyte leakage (EL) in addition to antioxidant enzyme activities were measured after two weeks of salt treatments. Salinity did not alter the root or shoot biomass of the three Echinacea species studied. However, the survival rate varied among the species, with the highest rate (96.8%) in E. purpurea and the lowest one (70.7%) in E. angustifolia. In parallel, E. angustifolia plants showed high injury index and EL values compared to the other two species, which indicates its sensitivity to salinity-induced membrane damage even at the lowest salt concentration tested. This species showed a decrease in stomatal conductance, photosynthetic and transpiration rates at all salt concentrations; while, in E. purpurea and E. pallida, the photosynthetic rate was reduced only at 75 and 100mM NaCl. The decline in the leaf gas exchange was highly correlated with Na+ and Cl− contents in all Echinacea species. Although Na+ and Cl− concentrations increased in both roots and shoots with increasing external salt concentrations, the accumulation of Na+ ions in E. angustifolia shoots was higher than in the other two species, resulting in a significant increase in Na+/K+ ratio. Furthermore, E. purpurea retained more Na+ ions in the roots than the other species suggesting higher efficiency in excluding Na+ from the shoots. E. purpurea showed increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities at all salt concentrations. On the other hand, salinity induced a reduction in catalase (CAT) activity with no change in glutathione reductase (GR) activity in any of the species. Our results indicate that the Echinacea species studied showed a limited salt tolerance. However, E. purpurea and to a lesser extent, E. pallida were more salt tolerant than E. angustifolia. The relative tolerance of E. purpurea was associated with the higher Na+ exclusion capacity and the increased antioxidant activities particularly SOD and APX.

Immune-modulation and Anti-infection Properties of the Phytomedicine Echinacea

Extracts of Echinacea species were used traditionally in North America forthe treatment of infections and wounds, and preparations derived from Echinaceapurpurea â€Âcytotoxic concentrations.The immune modulation is manifest in two ways: as a stimulation of phagocytosisand other functions in various types of immune cells, and as an antiinflammatoryagent in epithelial and other cells infected with proinflammatoryviruses and microbes. Studies of gene expression in infectedand uninfected cells have revealed that Echinacea extracts can bring aboutnumerous changes in expression of cytokine, chemokine, and many otherimmune â€Ârelated genes. Thus Echinacea causes many alterations in signalingpathways involved in control of various immunological functions, resulting incontrol of the invading pathogen and amelioration of associated symptoms.

Bauer ketones 23 and 24 from Echinacea paradoxa var. paradoxa inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2 and cytokines in RAW264.7 mouse macrophages

Among the nine Echinacea species, E. purpurea, E. angustifolia and E. pallida, have been widely used to treat the common cold, flu and other infections. In this study, ethanol extracts of these three Echinacea species and E. paradoxa, including its typical variety, E. paradoxa var. paradoxa, were screened in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage cells to assess potential anti-inflammatory activity. E. paradoxa var. paradoxa, rich in polyenes/polyacetylenes, was an especially efficient inhibitor of LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by 46%, 32%, 53% and 26%, respectively, when tested at 20μg/ml in comparison to DMSO control. By bioactivity-guided fractionation, pentadeca-8Z-ene-11, 13-diyn-2-one (Bauer ketone 23) and pentadeca-8Z, 13Z-dien-11-yn-2-one (Bauer ketone 24) from E. paradoxa var. paradoxa were found primarily responsible for inhibitory effects on NO and PGE2 production. Moreover, Bauer ketone 24 was the major contributor to inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production in LPS-induced mouse macrophage cells. These results provide a rationale for exploring the medicinal effects of the Bauer ketone-rich taxon, E. paradoxa var. paradoxa, and confirm the anti-inflammatory properties of Bauer ketones 23 and 24.

Salinity-induced changes in caffeic acid derivatives, alkamides and ketones in three Echinacea species

A hydroponic study was carried out to investigate the changes in caffeic acid derivatives, alkamides and ketones in three Echinacea species in response to salinity stress (0, 50, 75 and 100 mM NaCl). These hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds were extracted from the roots by Accelerated Solvent Extractor and analyzed simultaneously by RP-HPLC. The characteristic phytochemical profile of caffeic acid derivatives, alkamides and/or ketones was not affected by salinity. However, significant changes in their relative amount were found depending on the species and salinity intensity. Two of the Echinacea species studied, Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia exposed to salinity up to 75 mM NaCl for two weeks, had higher amount of caftaric acid, cynarin, and cichoric acid ( E. purpurea) as well as chlorogenic acid, cynarin, echinacoside, caffeic acid and alkamides 12, 13, 14/15, 16, 17, 8/9, 18 ( E. angustifolia) than the respective control plants. In contrast, in Echinacea pallida, caftaric acid, echinacoside, and major ketones 22, 24, 25 and pentadeca-8 Z, 11 Z-dien-2-one levels were reduced at 50 and/or 75 mM NaCl. The highest concentration of salt (100 mM NaCl) reduced the level of cynarin, cichoric acid, cichoric acid derivative and alkamides 1, 3, 6, 7, 8/9 in E. purpurea and caftaric acid, alkamide 2, ketones 24, 25 in E. pallida, as well as alkamides 1, 2, 11 in E. angustifolia. Our results suggest that the quality of the raw material obtained from both E. purpurea and E. angustifolia exposed to salinity up to 75 mM NaCl would be higher than the one obtained from E. pallida as the plants retained most of their phytochemical marker compounds.

Reduction of seed dormancy in Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. by in-dark seed selection and breeding

Strong seed dormancy has been an obstacle for field production of Echinacea species. Previous research on overcoming Echinacea seed dormancy has been extensive and focused on treatment methods, which involve time and expense, and are incompatible with organic production if synthetic chemicals are used. We have attempted to genetically reduce seed dormancy through selection and breeding in Echinacea, by using Echinacea pallida as a model species. Three accessions were used in this study. Nine parent plants of each accession selected from early, in-dark germinated seeds (in-dark plants) or from late, in-light seeds (in-light plants) were planted and grouped by accession and germination treatment method for seed production through a polycross method. Germination tests indicated that these in-dark plants produced seed (in-dark seed) with significantly reduced seed dormancy when tested under light or dark condition in comparison to the seed of the in-light plants (in-light seed). Among the three accessions, the in-dark seed germinated at much higher rates than did the in-light seed, more than 2× at 25°C under light and up to an 83× increase in darkness, and up to an 8× increase over the corresponding parental seed lots under comparable germination conditions. In addition to these increases in germination, the in-dark seed showed early and synchronized germination as compared to the in-light seed. Since these results were achieved through only one cycle of selection and breeding, they strongly suggest that we have developed a very effective method for modifying seed dormancy in Echinacea.

Effects of chemically characterized fractions from aerial parts of Echinacea purpurea and E. angustifolia on myelopoiesis in rats.

Echinacea species are used for beneficial effects on immune function, and various prevalent phytochemicals have immunomodulatory effects. Using a commercial E. purpurea (L.) Moench product, we have evaluated the myelopoietic effect on bone marrow of rats treated with various extracts and correlated this with their chemical class composition. Granulocyte/macrophage-colony forming cells (GM-CFCs) from femurs of female Sprague-Dawley rats were assessed at 24 h after 7 daily oral treatments. A 75% ethanolic extract at 50 mg dried weight (derived from 227 mg aerial parts) per kg body weight increased GM-CFCs by 70% but at 100 mg/kg was without effect. Ethanolic extracts from aerial parts of E. angustifolia DC. var. angustifolia and E. purpurea from the USDA North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station increased GM-CFCs by 3- and 2-fold, respectively, at 200 mg/kg (~1400 mg/kg plant material). Extract from another USDA E. angustifolia was inactive. Proton and APT NMR, MS, and TLC indicated alkylamides and caffeic-acid derivatives (CADs) present in ethanolic extracts of both the commercial and USDA-derived material. Cichoric and caftaric acids were prominent in both E. purpurea ethanolic extracts but absent in E. angustifolia. Aqueous extract of the commercial material exhibited polysaccharide and CAD signatures and was without effect on GM-CFCs. A methanol-CHCl3 fraction of commercial source, also inactive, was almost exclusively 1:4 nonanoic: decanoic acids, which were also abundant in commercial ethanolic extract but absent from USDA material. In conclusion, we have demonstrated an ethanolextractable myelostimulatory activity in Echinacea aerial parts that, when obtained from commercial herbal supplements, may be antagonized by medium-chain fatty acids presumably derived from a non-plant additive.