Need a little help staying healthy all year round? Echinacea, an iconic medicinal plant in Native American traditions, is now making its way into your wellness routines. At Soin-et-Nature, explore a carefully curated selection of products made withEchinacea purpurea, a plant known for boosting the body’s natural defenses and shortening the duration of winter infections. Available in drops, capsules, or standardized extracts, it suits every need—whether you want to prevent colds, soothe a sore throat, or simply boost your immunity every day.
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The Native Americans (of South Dakota) used this plant to heal infected wounds and applied it topically to treat snake bites. To use it, they crushed the fresh plant and applied it topically or chewed the root. The name Echinacea derives from the Greek word echinos, meaning “hedgehog,” and refers to the flower’s spiky flower head. "Purpurea" is the Latin term for the color purple, a purplish red.Echinacea was one of the primary medicinal plants of the indigenous peoples of North America, particularly the Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota, Kiowa, the Crows, the Omahas, the Pawnees, the Poncas, the Tetons, the Delawares, and the Comanches. They used the juice or a paste made from crushed herb or chewed pieces of root. Its use as a decoction was less common.
It is believed that the Indigenous peoples did not distinguish between the various types of echinacea but used whichever type grew in the region where they lived. White settlers in North America adopted echinacea, which had been used as a remedy by Indigenous peoples. As early as 1737, a description of the plant and its medicinal properties can be found in John Clayton’s *Catalogue of Plants, Fruits, and Trees Native to Virginia*. Under the name “Black Sampson,” echinacea was subsequently used primarily as a panacea in folk medicine. In 1852, E. purpurea was first mentioned in the “Eclectic Dispensatory of the United States,” where its effectiveness against syphilis was extolled. Around 1869, H.C.F. Meyer produced and sold the first pharmaceutical preparation in Pawnee City under the name “Meyer’s Blood Purifier.”
Echinacea’s popularity continued to grow, as did the number of glowing reports about it. However, in 1909, echinacea was not recognized as effective enough to be included in the list of “New and Non-Official Remedies.” In 1911, the first comprehensive pharmacognostic study on E. angustifolia was published, featuring numerous microscopic illustrations. In the 1930s, interest in echinacea gradually waned in the United States, and fewer and fewer articles were published. In Europe, interest in echinacea did not begin until 1897. Clarke described in detail the clinical successes achieved in his *Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica*, published in London in 1900.
A homeopathic pharmacological study was published in 1906, and in 1924, E. angustifolia was included in Dr. Wilmar Schwabe’s “Homöopatisches Arzneibuch” (Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia). Stauffer and Madaus were pioneers in the use of echinacea in Europe. Since then, the various species of echinacea have been intensively studied from morphological, pharmacological, and clinical perspectives. The most comprehensive documentation pertains to E. purpurea. A. Vogel discovered purple echinacea in the early 1950s during a trip across the United States that took him, among other places, to South Dakota. He befriended Black Elk, the chief of the Oglala Lakota, who introduced him to the healing practices of his tribe and gave him echinacea seeds as a gift. The plants grown from these seeds formed the basis of his own experiments with echinacea, which became an essential plant for Alfred Vogel.
Echinacea is a plant with many benefits, particularly recognized for its effectiveness against winter ailments. It not only helps reduce cold symptoms—such as nasal congestion, coughing, and sneezing—but also helps shorten the duration of the infection.
Thanks to its immunostimulant properties, echinaceanaturally strengthens the immune system, helping the body better defend itself against seasonal viruses. It is also useful for relieving persistent sore throats and soothing irritation. Furthermore, this medicinal plant is effective at alleviating localized infections in the ENT area (nose, throat, ears), providing natural support for sinusitis, pharyngitis, or the early stages of a sore throat.
For acute conditions:
The flowering aerial parts and underground parts of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) are included in List A of the French Pharmacopoeia.
Soin-et-Nature offers a complete range of dietary supplements to strengthen the body’s natural defenses and support your immune system. Here are the main categories available:
These dietary supplements for natural defenses, available on Soin-et-Nature, are specially formulated to protect your body, strengthen your immunity, and improve your resistance to external stressors.
