Home
/ Product Reviews
/ Echinacea Supplements Review & Top Picks

Echinacea Supplements Review

Many Echinacea Supplements Fail CL's Tests. Make Sure You Know What You're Getting!

Medically reviewed and edited by Tod Cooperman, M.D.

Updated July 17, 2021 ⓘ

Echinacea supplements reviewed by ConsumerLab.com

Products tested in 2021

+— 25 sources

In addition the results of its expert testing, ConsumerLab uses only high-quality, evidence based, information sources. These sources include peer-reviewed studies and information from agencies such as the FDA and USDA, and the National Academy of Medicine. On evolving topics, studies from pre-print journals may be sourced. All of our content is reviewed by medical doctors and doctoral-level experts in pharmacology, toxicology, and chemistry. We continually update and medically review our information to keep our content trustworthy, accurate, and reliable. The following sources are referenced in this article:

Summary

What do Echinacea supplements do?
Echinacea supplements may modestly help prevent colds when taken during cold season and/or reduce the severity of a cold if taken at the first onset of symptoms — although the evidence is mixed. Limited evidence suggests that a form of Echinacea may modestly reduce anxiety (see What It Does). Phenolic compounds in Echinacea may be responsible for some of the herb's effects (see What It Is).
What did CL's tests of Echinacea find?
Four products did not contain the expected minimum amounts of total phenolic compounds (one had less than 2%), and two products did not even list their amounts of Echinacea (see What CL Found and How Products Were Evaluated).
Which Echinacea supplements are best?
Among six products Approved for Quality by ConsumerLab.com, two (an extract and a non-extract) were chosen as Top Picks.
Which form and dose of Echinacea is best?
Echinacea comes in various forms and concentrations, but most positive clinical studies used products extracted from aerial parts (leaves, flowers, stems) of E. purpurea or the roots of E. angustifolia (see ConsumerTips).
Is Echinacea safe?
Echinacea appears to be relatively safe for short-term use (up to 12 weeks), and side-effects tend to be mild (GI symptoms, increases urination). However, be aware that some people may have allergic reactions, such as rashes, and rarely, liver damage has been reported. Although Echinacea may affect the metabolism of a variety of drugs, the effect may be small (see Concerns and Cautions).

Make sure you're choosing the best echinacea supplements approved in our tests!

See the Full Review as a Member

Join now at www.consumerlab.com/join/

Alphabetical list of echinacea supplement brands compared in this review

21st Century Echinacea Complex 250 mg

A. Vogel Echinaforce

BulkSupplements.com Echinacea Extract

Gummiology Propolis & Echinacea - Raspberry Flavor

Hawaii Pharm Echinacea

Herb Pharm Echinacea

Jamieson Echinacea

Nature's Bounty Echinacea 400 mg

Nutrilite Immunity Echinacea

Oregon's Wild Harvest Echinacea

Solgar Echinacea Herb Extract

Vital Nutrients Echinacea Extract 500 mg

You must be a member to get the full test results for Echinacea supplements along with ConsumerLab.com recommendations and quality ratings. In this review, you'll get test results and quality ratings for 10 Echinacea supplements selected for testing by ConsumerLab and two others that passed testing in our voluntary Quality Certification Program. In this comprehensive review, you'll discover:

Which Echinacea supplements passed or failed testing
ConsumerLab.com's Top Picks among Echinacea supplements
The clinical evidence for, or against, using Echinacea for preventing colds, reducing cold symptoms, and other uses, such as anxiety
What to look for on labels: Echinacea species (such as E. purpurea and E. angustifolia), plant parts (such as aerial and root), forms (extracts and herb powders) and dosage

Cost comparisons and which products offer the best value
The evidence for other ingredients, like goldenseal, elderberry and zinc, which are often combined with Echinacea
Safety, side effects, and drug interactions with Echinacea

Join to unlock the full report and get full access to over 1,400 reviews

See the Full Review as a Member

Join now at www.consumerlab.com/join/

Reviews & Articles

Membership & Subscription

About ConsumerLab.com

About Testing

News

Echinacea Supplements Review

Many Echinacea Supplements Fail CL's Tests. Make Sure You Know What You're Getting!

Summary

What do Echinacea supplements do?

What did CL's tests of Echinacea find?

Which Echinacea supplements are best?

Which form and dose of Echinacea is best?

Is Echinacea safe?

Make sure you're choosing the best echinacea supplements approved in our tests!