[MPWG] Echinacea doses

[rrr at montana.com]

Please bear with my well-known predilection to phytosleuthing mathematics:

So, just how many milliliters of Echinacea tincture do these doses compare
to, using proposed efficacious doses?

Hobbs: 1.2 – 2.2 grams per day (using 1:5 tincture)
AHPA: 3 grams per day (using 1:5 tincture)
Bauer: 3.2- 8 grams per day (1:5 assumed)
Bone: 5 – 15 grams per day (using 1:2 tincture)

Note that Bone is using 1:2 tincture (see below).

There is about 1 ml in 1 dropperful of a tincture (not exact b/c depends
on viscosity of extract, altitude, width of eyedropper
)

There are 5 mls in one teaspoon and 30 mls in one ounce (a typical bottle
of tincture sold in America contains 1 fluid ounce).

There are about 200 mg of herb per 1 ml in a 1:5 tincture.
And 500 mg of herb per 1 ml in a 1:2 tincture.

Using the doses suggested above:

Hobbs: 1.2-2.2 grams (1:5) = 1200 mg and 2200 mg divided by 200 = 6 mls
and 11 mls
AHPA: 3 grams (1:5) = 3000 mg divided by 200 = 15 mls (half an ounce of
tincture)
Bauer: 3.2-8 grams (1:5) = 3200 mg and 8000 mg divided by 200 = 16 mls and
40 mls
Bone: 5-15 grams (1:2) = 5000 mg and 15000 mg divided by 500 = 10 mls and
30 mls

This means that an efficacious dose of 1:5 strength Echinacea tincture is
estimated from 1 teaspoon of tincture a day (best to divide into 3 or 4
doses) and up to 1.3 ounces of tincture per day. About the same if a 1:2
tincture is used (2 teaspoons to one fluid ounce).

I might add that in China, traditional doses of dried herb in decoction
range from 25 to 150 grams per day. Mind you, this is based on a 2-4
thousand-year history of experience.

Robyn Klein, AHG, MS, Medical Botany
Department of Plant Sciences
Montana State University