04/12/2025
Solid science.
A group of scientists in Canada decided to test whether Echinacea worked as an immune booster in horses using : a double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover trial in 8 healthy horses. Four of the horses were given Echinacea, four were given sugar water (placebo) for a few weeks. Then, after a two week rest from both substances, they swapped the horses around for another few weeks. All horses had their blood tested weekly.
This is what they found in the horses that were given Echinacea compared to the placebo group :
1. the white blood cells got better at killing pathogens
2. the number of white blood cells in the blood increased
3. more white blood cells entered the tissues
4. the number of red blood cells in the blood increased
5. the size of red blood cells in the blood increased
6. the concentration of haemoglobin (the oxygen carrying molecule in the blood) increased
No adverse effects were identified through haematology and biochemistry screens.
The bottom line is the horses given Echinacea had a MASSIVE advantage over those not given Echinacea. The very cells that fight off infection were more, bigger, better supplied and better at what they do.
This is why we use Echinacea in Immune mix and Ultimate mix.
