Black+Elderberry

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= //Sambucus nigra//. =
 * (Black elderberry)**

Found commonly in Ireland, // Sumbucus nigra // (black elderberry) has been used for centuries, Hippocrates in 400BC referred to it as his “medicine chest”, and it has been used by herbalists to this day for its effective treatment against cold and flu.

A placebo-controlled, double blind study was conducted on individuals during an outbreak of influenza in 1993 and found that complete cure was achieved within 2 to 3 days in 90% of those treated with a standardised elderberry extract compared to 6 days of the placebo group (Zakay-Rones).

Recent researched tested the effects of a standardised elderberry extract //in vitro// against influenza A and B viruses. Cell cultures were infected with influenza strains and then either treated with the elderberry extract or left untreated. Results showed virus propagation after 48 hours was 30% lower in treated cultures in comparison to untreated cultures (Krawitz C.).

Other research analysed the constituents of elderberry fruit and found that two of its flavonoids bound to the H1N1 virus and inhibited it from infecting host cells. Antiviral activity was dose-dependent, as a 50% inhibition of viral replication was seen at a dose of flavonoid at 252µg/mL and 100% inhibition at 1000 µg/mL. This stresses the need for extracts to be standardised so effective concentrations of constituents can be guaranteed. The antiviral effect of each flavonoid was found to be significantly comparable to that of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) in the study (Roschek). In light of this, //Sambucus nigra// flavonoids could become an effective alternative medication to ease the strain of stockpiling enough Tamiflu® in a pandemic situation. __ Figures: __ Figure 1. Black elderberries. Image Source Page: @http://www.alice-dsl.net/klauskeilhofer/Arboretum/Arboretum.htm Figure 2. Sambucus nigra bush. Image Source Page: @http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambucus_nigra