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Ethnobotany of purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia, Asteraceae) and OtherEchinacea Species

La etnobotánica de laEchinacea angustifolia (Asteraceae) y los otros Echinaceaespecies

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Abstract

The purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was the most widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians. It was used for a variety of ailments, including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, snakebite, and as a painkiller. H. C. F. Meyer used it as a patent medicine in the 1870s and introduced it to the medical profession. Recent scientific research (mostly German) onEchinacea species has shown that they possess immunostimulatory activity. Increased cultivation ofE. purpurea andE. angustifolia may be needed to meet the increased demand for its roots and to alleviate the effects of overharvesting of wild stands.

Resumen

Echinacea angustifolia fue la planta medicinal más usada de los indios de Ia pradera norteamericana. Se usó para curar una variedad de enfermedades, incluso el dolor de muelas, el dolor de garganta, la mordedura de serpiente, y como un quita dolores. H. C. F. Meyer la usó como una medicina patentada en los años 1870 y se la intrudujo a la profesión de medicina. Recientes investigaciones cientificas (Ia mayorIa en Alemania) sobre las especies de Echinacea han demostrado que éslas posean un efecto estimulante en el sistema de inmunidad. Es posible que sea necesario más y más cultivo deE. purpurea y E. angustifolia para satisfacer la demanda creciente de las ralces y para mitigar los efectos de la recolección de las poblaciones silvestres.

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  1. Department of Systematics and Ecology, University of Kansas, 66045, Lawrence, KS

    Kelly Kindscher

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  1. Kelly Kindscher
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Kindscher, K. Ethnobotany of purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia, Asteraceae) and OtherEchinacea Species. Econ Bot 43, 498–507 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02935924

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02935924

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