https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Category%3AImmune_herbs 2026-05-28T15:18:11Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.46.0-beta https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?title=Category:Immune_herbs&diff=6945&oldid=prev 2026-05-23T19:17:50Z

<p>Create canonical category-page article (history-first)</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>An &#039;&#039;&#039;immune herb&#039;&#039;&#039; is a plant medicine used to support, modulate, or enhance the function of the immune system. The category covers the acute-phase &#039;&#039;&#039;immunostimulants&#039;&#039;&#039; used for upper-respiratory-tract infection prevention and treatment (echinacea, elderberry, andrographis, pelargonium), the longer-course &#039;&#039;&#039;immunomodulators&#039;&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;&#039;tonics&#039;&#039;&#039; used in chronic immune dysregulation (astragalus, reishi, cordyceps, the Ayurvedic guduchi), and the antiviral-specific herbs whose principal indication is viral illness.<br /> <br /> The foundational immune herb in Western use is &#039;&#039;&#039;echinacea&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Echinacea purpurea&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;Echinacea angustifolia&#039;&#039;), a Native American medicine adopted into American Eclectic practice in the late nineteenth century and now the most-prescribed Western herbal-medicine for acute upper-respiratory illness. The active alkamide and polysaccharide fractions modulate macrophage and dendritic-cell activity; the controlled-trial evidence is mixed, with Cochrane review supporting modest benefit for symptom-duration reduction in adults with early-stage common cold but not finding a clear preventive effect. &#039;&#039;&#039;Elderberry&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Sambucus nigra&#039;&#039;), the European folk medicine for influenza and the common cold, has more focused antiviral evidence: the Sambucol standardised extract has shown reduction of influenza symptom duration in two small trials. &#039;&#039;&#039;Andrographis&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Andrographis paniculata&#039;&#039;), the Ayurvedic and TCM &quot;king of bitters&quot;, has substantial controlled-trial evidence for upper-respiratory-tract symptom duration; the Kan Jang preparation (andrographis + eleuthero) is widely used in Sweden and selected European jurisdictions. &#039;&#039;&#039;Pelargonium&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Pelargonium sidoides&#039;&#039;), the South African medicine adopted by German phytotherapy, has Cochrane-supported benefit for acute bronchitis.<br /> <br /> The longer-course immunomodulator class is dominated by &#039;&#039;&#039;astragalus&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Astragalus propinquus&#039;&#039;, Huang Qi), the principal TCM immune-tonic with controlled-trial evidence in chemotherapy-associated immunosuppression and chronic fatigue states. &#039;&#039;&#039;Reishi&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Ganoderma lucidum&#039;&#039;, a fungus) and &#039;&#039;&#039;cordyceps&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Cordyceps sinensis&#039;&#039;, also fungal) extend the tonic spectrum; both are widely used as adjuncts in oncology. The Ayurvedic &#039;&#039;&#039;guduchi&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Tinospora cordifolia&#039;&#039;) and &#039;&#039;&#039;amla&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Phyllanthus emblica&#039;&#039;) round out the tradition. &#039;&#039;&#039;Cat&#039;s claw&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Uncaria tomentosa&#039;&#039;; &#039;&#039;una de gato&#039;&#039;), an Amazonian medicine traditionally used by the Asháninka, has selected immunomodulator and anti-inflammatory evidence.<br /> <br /> == Members indexed ==<br /> <br /> Echinacea (&#039;&#039;E. purpurea&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;E. angustifolia&#039;&#039;), elderberry (&#039;&#039;Sambucus nigra&#039;&#039;), andrographis (&#039;&#039;Andrographis paniculata&#039;&#039;), pelargonium (&#039;&#039;Pelargonium sidoides&#039;&#039;), astragalus (&#039;&#039;Astragalus propinquus&#039;&#039;), reishi (&#039;&#039;Ganoderma lucidum&#039;&#039;; fungus), cordyceps (&#039;&#039;Cordyceps sinensis&#039;&#039;; fungus), guduchi (&#039;&#039;Tinospora cordifolia&#039;&#039;), amla (&#039;&#039;Phyllanthus emblica&#039;&#039;), cat&#039;s claw (&#039;&#039;Uncaria tomentosa&#039;&#039;), olive leaf (cross-listed; antiviral), garlic (cross-listed; antimicrobial), oregano oil (cross-listed; antimicrobial), the immune-tonic ginseng species, and selected mushroom medicines (turkey tail &#039;&#039;Trametes versicolor&#039;&#039;, maitake &#039;&#039;Grifola frondosa&#039;&#039;, shiitake &#039;&#039;Lentinula edodes&#039;&#039;).<br /> <br /> == Notes on scope ==<br /> <br /> The boundary of this category is &quot;herb prescribed primarily to support or modulate immune function.&quot; The pharmaceutical [[:Category:Immunomodulators|immunomodulators]] and [[:Category:Immunosuppressants|immunosuppressants]] are listed under their primary umbrellas. The herbs whose principal indication is specifically antimicrobial rather than immune-modulating are listed under [[:Category:Antimicrobial_herbs|antimicrobial herbs]]. The mushroom medicines, although fungal rather than plant, are conventionally grouped with the immune herbs and are cross-listed.<br /> <br /> == About these pages ==<br /> <br /> This category page is an encyclopedia article about its subject. The actual index of herbs belonging to the category is generated automatically by the wiki engine, from category-membership declarations on the individual herb pages, and appears at the foot of the page below the references.<br /> <br /> == References ==<br /> <br /> &lt;references/&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Plants]]<br /> [[Category:Herbal_medicines]]<br /> [[Category:CuratedCategoryPage]]</div>

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