@article {3562,
	title = {Immunomodulation mediated by a herbal syrup containing a standardized Echinacea root extract: a pilot study in healthy human subjects on cytokine gene expression.},
	journal = {Phytomedicine},
	volume = {21},
	year = {2014},
	month = {2014 Sep 25},
	pages = {1406-10},
	abstract = {<p>In this study, the immunomodulatory effect of a triply standardized Echinacea angustifolia root extract (Polinacea({\textregistered})) was evaluated in 10 healthy subjects. Ten ml of syrup containing one hundred mg of extract (corresponding to 4.7 mg of Echinacoside and 8.0mg of a high molecular weight-20,000 Da- polysaccharide) were administered as a herbal syrup once a day for one month. The immunomodulatory effect was evaluated before and after herbal syrup administration evaluating the expression levels of the cytokines IL-2, IL-8, IL-6 and TNF-α. Cytokine expression was studied in lympho-monocytes and in plasma samples measuring the mRNA and protein levels, respectively. The results were analysed by ANOVA and non-parametric Friedman rank sum tests; when possible it was adopted a pair-wise comparisons at different post-treatment times, using the paired t-tests with Holm correction. The correlation between the variations of cytokine plasma levels and the respective mRNA was carried out using a linear regression model. In lympho-monocytes our data indicate the up-regulation of the mRNA levels of IL-2 and IL-8 and the down regulation of the mRNA levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL6. The differential regulation was maximal after 14 days of treatment. IL-2 up-regulation and IL-6 down-regulation were also confirmed at the protein level in plasma. Finally, the up-regulation of the mRNA of IL-2/IL-8 and the down-regulation of IL-6 positively correlated with the protein levels detected in the plasma. In conclusion, this pilot study suggests a relevant role for the standardized Echinacea angustifolia root extract in the control of cytokine expression. This first demonstration of the immuno-modulating activity of Echinacea angustifolia root extract in the healthy subject, supports at least in part the common use of such products as health promoting supplement.</p>},
	keywords = {Adult, Cytokines, Down-Regulation, Echinacea, Female, Glycosides, Healthy Volunteers, Humans, Immunomodulation, Interleukin-2, Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, Lymphocytes, Male, Middle Aged, Monocytes, Pilot Projects, Plant Extracts, Plant Roots, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha},
	issn = {1618-095X},
	doi = {10.1016/j.phymed.2014.04.034},
	author = {Dapas, B and Dall{\textquoteright}Acqua, S and Bulla, R and Agostinis, C and Perissutti, B and Invernizzi, S and Grassi, G and Voinovich, D}
}
