Danger of coumarin:
There is no clear definition of how much coumarin is dangerous for any particular individual, but Abraham K, et al determined the tolerable daily intake of coumarin to be 0.1 mg per kg of body weight. For a person weighing 80 kg, or about 176 lbs, a tolerable daily intake would be approximately 8 mg of coumarin. (6) The various studies mentioned have defined few adverse effects of Pelargonium sidoides in both adults and children.
Summary and Conclusion: Pelargonium sidoides:
Acute bronchitis and Pelargonium sidoides:
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done on 124 adults with acute bronchitis for 48 hours or less received Pelargonium sidoides (30 drops [1.5 mL]) (n=64) or placebo (n=60) 3 times daily for 7 days. At day four onset of treatment effect was reported for 68.8% of the treatment group versus 33.3% for placebo. No serious side effects were reported. (1)
- Matthys H et al did a similar study to the one above with the same dose which also revealed significant response to treatment (3).
- A total of 2099 patients aged 0-93 years received EPs 7630 (a Pelargonium sidoides extract) for 14 days at a dose determined by a participant’s age. During treatment, the average Bronchitis Severity Score (BSS: cough, sputum, rales/rhonchi, chest pain at cough, dyspnoea) of all patients decreased significantly. No serious side-effects were reported. (2)