Widespread flu activity has been reported in New York. Certainly, we felt it in the office this last week. All ages (parents included) seem to be affected. Could a South African geranium be helpful to households that are about to be hit?
Perhaps so. In fact, in a report from the Institute of Immunology in Luxembourg published earlier this year, EPs 7630 (a patented extract from this plant) showed dose-dependent anti-influenza activity at non-toxic concentrations against both pandemic H1N1 and seasonal H3N2.
Last month, researchers from Turkey reported that EPs 7630 may prevent asthma attacks in children with upper respiratory infections. This is a big deal. They enrolled 61 asthmatic children that were developing URIs. Half got the extract, the others received a placebo. Finding: the EPs 7630 group had significantly fewer asthma attacks.
EPs 7630 is the active ingredient in Umcka Cold Care, which the Bambini Apothecary and a few neighborhood stores such as Stimpson's House of Nutrition, continue to stock. (It's not available at pharmacies).
It comes either as a tincture (dosed in drops, but contains alcohol) or a liquid (dosed by teaspoon but contains fructose).
An interesting feature is that it is a 1x homeopathic, which means it potentially has dual effects -- both herbal and homeopthic.
