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First Study
on Safety of Echinacea During Pregnancy
The first controlled prospective study
of its kind suggests that consumption of echinacea (Echinacea
purpurea [L.] Moench, and E. angustifolia D.C., Asteraceae)
during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of birth
defects (Gallo et al., 2000). The study involved 412 pregnant
Canadian women who contacted the Motherisk Program (a teratogen
information service in Toronto) between 1996 and 1998 with concerns
about the safety of consuming echinacea during pregnancy. Two
hundred and six of the women had taken echinacea during pregnancy;
the other 206 (the control group) had called Motherisk to ask
about the safety of echinacea, but subsequently decided not to
take it. The women in the control group were matched to the echinacea
group by age, alcohol and cigarette use, and disease (i.e., upper
respiratory tract infections during pregnancy). One hundred and
twelve of the women in the echinacea group (54 percent) reported
taking the herb in the first trimester of pregnancy, and 17 (8
percent) used echinacea throughout their pregnancies.
Results revealed no significant differences
between the two groups in the rate of major or minor birth defects,
nor were there any differences in pregnancy outcome, delivery
method, maternal weight gain, gestational age, infant birth weight,
or fetal distress. In the echinacea group, 6 major and 6 minor
malformations occurred; of these, there were 4 major and 2 minor
malformations in babies of women who took echinacea during the
first trimester, the most important period in terms of initial
fetal development. By comparison, the researchers observed 7 major
and 7 minor malformations in control group infants. There were
13 spontaneous abortions in the echinacea group, compared with
7 in the control group; the researchers did not address the significance
of this finding. They concluded, "The first prospective study
suggests that gestational use of echinacea during organogenesis
is not associated with an increased risk for major malformations."
Approximately 60 percent of the women who took echinacea during
pregnancy had consulted a health care provider before taking the
herb, and 48 percent of the providers consulted (who included
physicians, pharmacists, complementary health practitioners, and
midwives) felt that echinacea posed no significant safety concerns.
The dosages of echinacea capsules or tablets used by the women
varied from 250 to 1,000 mg a day; tincture dosages varied from
5 to 30 drops a day. About 81 percent of the participants reported
that echinacea was effective in improving their upper respiratory
tract symptoms.
- Evelyn Leigh, Herb Research Foundation
[Gallo M, Sarkar M, Au W, Pietrzak K, Comas B, Smith M, Jaeger
TV, Einarson A, Koren G. Pregnancy outcome following gestational
exposure to echinacea. Arch Intern Med 2000; 160: 3141-3143.]
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