Elderberry for Colds and Flu

Article by Ann Walker, Photo by Anemone123 from Pixabay

Viral infections causing the common cold are not well served by modern medicine. Antibiotics are totally inappropriate to combat viral infections, as these drugs have no effect on viruses, as we are being told repeatedly by the media. Their indiscriminate use for viral infections is not only a waste of drug resources, it can accelerate antibiotic resistance among bacteria. Sadly, as viruses are constantly mutating, there are no anti-viral drugs suitable for upper respiratory tract infections, however, there are several herbs with good anti-viral properties.

One of these, with a long history of use in Europe, is the elderberry (Sambucus nigra). The berries, which have been traditionally used to address cold and ‘flu symptoms, have demonstrated antiviral activity against the common cold and influenza viruses, in both test tube and animal studies. The active components are the pigments, called anthocyanins, which give the berries their deep-red colour. These compounds have been shown to boost the body’s immune function as well as having direct anti-viral effects.

As a result of the dissemination of the results of modern research, supplements of elderberry have become popular home remedies and this trend is set to increase as people search for solutions to the debilitating symptoms of viral infections. A recently-published paper (PMID: 30670267) gives further support for using elderberry for this purpose. Until now, existing clinical research on the effects of elderberry supplementation for upper respiratory symptoms was limited to only small clinical trials.

Now these trials have been put together in a meta-analysis, to include a total of 180 participants. The authors’ conclusion was that supplementation with elderberry substantially reduced upper respiratory symptoms. They stated that these findings present an alternative to antibiotic misuse for upper respiratory symptoms due to viral infections, and a potentially safer alternative to prescription drugs for routine cases of the common cold and influenza.

PMID = PubMed identifier

Ann Walker PhD, FCPP, MNIMH, RNutr
Course Director DHM
Herbal Practitioner