Sambucol Elderberry Extract Eases Flu
Last week, the whole family was down with the flu. It wasn’t really that bad, except that it didn’t leave me well enough for anything else other than moping around, either. Annoying and tiring, but lots of fluids and sleep did wonders.
There’s an herbal extract that has recently been demonstrated in a clinical trial to shorten the duration of the flu. Take note, it’s not a cure, it just speeds up recovery… or so do the data indicate. The results of the study were published in the International Journal of Medical Research.
In a clinical trial, flu patients given Sambucol recovered in 3.1 days compared to 7.1 days for those given placebo.
A previous study published by The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that nearly 90 percent of flu patients given Sambucol were completely free of symptoms within two to three days, as compared to at least six days with placebo.
What is the active ingredient in Sambucol? Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
How does it work? This article in WEbMD offers a possible mechanism:
It’s likely that antioxidants called flavonoids — which are contained in the extract — stimulate the immune system, writes Thom. Also, other compounds in elderberry, called anthocyanins, have an anti-inflammatory effect; this could explain the effect on aches, pains, and fever.
An older report on Nutraingredients also quotes the developer saying:
“Flu viruses are covered by tiny protein spikes of hemagglutinin, which they use to attach to, and infect, healthy human cells. While working on my doctoral thesis we isolated key active substances within black elderberry that disarm hemagglutinin and thus stop the first step of viral invasion.”
Has anyone tried this stuff? Knowing that flu is viral, I normally just resign myself to toughing it out. I’ve never had a flu that was unbearable for more than a week, anyway. For those of you who always suffer more severe symptoms, consider getting the flu shot.
Tags: alternative-medicine, diet, elderberry-extract, flu-Sambucol, functional-food, health, health-food, Healthy Eating, healthy-diet, herbal-medicine, nutraceuticals, nutritionRelated Stories
POSTED IN: ~Dietary Supplements, ~Fruit and Vegetables, ~Immune Defense
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