Andrographis paniculata (kan jang) and symptoms of the common cold:
A three-group study of 130 children (mean ± S.D. age, 6.89 ± 0.18 years) treated for the common cold compared echinacea purpurea (L.) extract plus standard treatment, Andrographis paniculata N. extract Sha-10 (AP) (kan jang) plus standard treatment, and standard treatment alone. AP and echinacea are herbs believed to reduce symptoms of common colds. Standard treatment for the control group (n=39) consisted of warm drinks, throat gargles with matricaria (chamomile) infusion, antiseptic nose drops of silver nitrate colloid p.r.n., and acetaminophen (pain-killer) 500 mg three times daily if fever or severe headache was present. The AP group (n=53) was administered as two tablets three times daily for 10 days (30 mg of andrographolide and deoxyandro-grapholide per day). The echinacea group (n=41) received 10 drops three times daily for 10 days. Echinacea administration was expressed as milligrams of echinacea pressed juice per 100 mL of oral solution; the milligram dosage was not reported. The echinacea product contained 20% alcohol. An improvement in upper respiratory tract infection symptoms by days 2−3 was reported in all groups. The authors reported a significantly faster improvement in symptoms in the AP group and a decrease in nasal secretions in the AP and echinacea groups. AP treatment was well tolerated with not reported side-effects. (55)