MultiStrength

NPN:

80083551

Quantity:

100 Tablets 

Product Type:

Multivitamin

Cautions & Warnings:

Consult a physician prior to use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you are taking blood thinners or digoxin, if you have a history of kidney stones or if you have diabetes. Consumption with other sedative products is not recommended. Hypersensitivity can occur; in which case, discontinue use. Keep out of reach of children.

Background

Biogenique Flu relief and immune support is well balanced composition of traditional herbs with elements and minerals. The active ingredients consists of Echinacea augustifolia (roots) dry extract, copper, zinc, magnesium, iodine and selenium. Echinacea species are native to North America and were used as traditional herbal remedies by the Great Plains Indian tribes. Later, settlers followed the Indians’ example and began using Echinacea for medicinal purposes as well. For a time, Echinacea enjoyed official status as a result of being listed in the US National Formulary from 1916-1950. However, use of Echinacea fell out of favor in the United States with the discovery of antibiotics. But now, people are becoming interested in Echinacea again because some antibiotics don’t work as well as they used to against certain bacteria. 

Biogenique Structurally Active-Orthogenic (SAO) technology

Echinacea contains several chemicals in the roots including volatile oils, glycoproteins, flavonoids etc. of which volatile oils are found in higher concentration. Volatile oil is a substance responsible for triggering the activity of immune system. Biogenique SAO technology extracts this chemical contained in the roots of Echinacea augustifolia by specialised process without destroying its medicinal properties. These chemicals are then combined with minerals and elements believed essential to stimulate immune system. This SAO designed innovative formulation is found to act in body by increasing antibody production, raising white blood cell counts, and stimulating the activity of key white blood cells.
SAO technology establishes a higher caliber of science for better quality research and formulation. It makes sure that the compounds are delivered on their potential to create effectiveness.
The SAO technology in Echinacea stimulates the overall activity of the cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infection. It also inhibits an enzyme secreted by bacteria to help them gain excess to healthy cells. Unlike antibiotics, which directly attack bacteria, Echinacea makes its own immune cells more efficient at attacking bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, including cancer cells. Our scientific research has proven that Echinacea stimulates phagocytosis, because of which foreign bodies that put our bodies at risk are destroyed by white blood cells and lymphocytes. 

SAO Analysis

Echinacea augustifolia:
Echinacea activates chemicals in the body that decrease inflammation, which might reduce cold and flu symptoms. The herb significantly improves the body’s immunity and thus reduces the risk of contracting diseases. It increases the number and activity of immune system cells including anti-tumor cells, promotes T-cell activation, stimulates new tissue growth for wound healing and reduces inflammation in arthritis and inflammatory skin conditions. It also seems to contain some chemicals that can attack yeast and other kinds of fungi directly and has hormonal, antiviral and antioxidant effects. For this reason, professional herbalists may recommend Echinacea to treat urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast (candida) infections, ear infections (also known as otitis media), athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever (also called allergic rhinitis), as well as slow-healing wounds. 

Scientific Evidence

Common Cold

Whether or not echinacea helps prevent or treat the common cold remains under debate. Some studies have shown that the herb can make you feel better faster. Others suggest that echinacea has no impact on a cold at all. Several clinical trials have shown that people who take echinacea as soon as they feel sick reduce the severity of their cold and have fewer symptoms than those who do not take the herb. One study of 95 people with early symptoms of cold and flu (such as runny nose, scratchy throat, and fever) found that those who drank several cups of echinacea tea every day for 5 days felt better sooner than those who drank tea without echinacea. A review of 14 clinical trials found that echinacea reduced the odds of developing a cold by 58% and the duration of a cold by 1 - 4 days. However, some experts dispute these findings claiming that there were several weaknesses in the analyses. Echinacea preparations tested in clinical trials differ greatly. It is important to choose a high quality echinacea supplement. Talk to your health care provider for recommendations. 

Upper respiratory tract infections: treatment and prevention

Echinacea is frequently recommended to reduce the duration and severity of upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) or the "common cold." However, the results of scientific studies are mixed. Studies even report that echinacea may help prevent upper respiratory tract infection in children with cold symptoms, but rash has also been associated with echinacea use in children, and the risks may outweigh the potential benefits. Additional research is needed in this area. 

Safety

• Avoid with known allergy or hypersensitivity to Echinacea or its constituents; use caution if you are allergic to plants of the Daisy family. 

• Individuals with asthma may be predisposed to allergic reactions to Echinacea. If symptoms persist or worsen, consult a health care practitioner.

• If you have an autoimmune disorder or progressive systemic disease such as tuberculosis, collagenosis, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and/or HIV infection or you are taking immunosuppressant’s, consult a health care practitioner prior to use.

• Although not enough research has been done to determine echinacea's safety for pregnancy or breastfeeding, it's advisable to avoid use during pregnancy or breastfeeding until more conclusive studies are conducted. 

Interactions you should know about

If you are taking any of the following medications, you should not use echinacea without first talking to your health care provider: 

• Econazole -- Echinacea may be useful in combination with econazole, an antifungal agent used to treat yeast infections (such as athlete's foot). When echinacea is used together with econazole, recurrence rates of these infections may be reduced.

• Immunosuppressants -- Immunosuppressants refers to a group of medications that are used for two main purposes -- treating cancer and suppressing the immune system following organ transplant so that the new organ is not rejected. Because echinacea can enhance immune function, people should not use the herb with immunosuppressive medications, especially when taken for organ transplant. 

• Some medications that decrease the immune system include azathioprine (Imuran), basiliximab (Simulect), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), daclizumab (Zenapax), muromonab-CD3 (OKT3, Orthoclone OKT3), mycophenolate (CellCept), tacrolimus (FK506, Prograf), sirolimus (Rapamune), prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone), corticosteroids (glucocorticoids), and others.

• Caffeine interacts with ECHINACEA -- The body breaks down caffeine to get rid of it. Echinacea might decrease how quickly the body breaks down caffeine. Taking Echinacea along with caffeine might cause too much caffeine in the bloodstream and increase the risk of side effects. Common side effects include jitteriness, headache, and fast heartbeat. 

Selected references

1. Barrett BP, Brown RL, Locken K, et al. Treatment of the common cold with unrefined echinacea. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 2002;137(12):939-946.

2. Barrett B, Brown R, Mundt M, et al. Using benefit harm tradeoffs to estimate sufficiently important difference: the case of the common cold. Med Decis Making 2005;25(1):47-55.

3. Everett LL, Birmingham PK, Williams GD, et al. Herbal and homeopathic medication use in pediatric surgical patients. Paediatr Anaesth 2005;15(6):455-460.

4. Huntley AL, Thompson Coon J, Ernst E. The safety of herbal medicinal products derived from Echinacea species: a systematic review. Drug Saf 2005;28(5):387-400.

5. Koenig K, Roehr CC. Does treatment with Echinacea purpureaeffectively shorten the course of upper respiratory tract infections in children? Arch Dis Child 2006;91(6):535-537.

6. Mishima S, Saito K, Maruyama H, et al. Antioxidant and immuno-enhancing effects of Echinacea purpurea . Biol Pharm Bull 2004;27(7):1004-1009.

7. Neri PG, Stagni E, Filippello M, et al. Oral Echinacea purpureaextract in low-grade, steroid-dependent, autoimmune idiopathic uveitis: a pilot study. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther 2006;22(6):431-436.

8. O'Neil J, Hughes S, Lourie A, et al. Effects of echinacea on the frequency of upper respiratory tract symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2008;100(4):384-388.

9. Pillai S, Pillai C, Mitscher LA, et al. Use of quantitative flow cytometry to measure ex vivo immunostimulant activity of echinacea: the case for polysaccharides. J Altern Complement Med 2007;13(6):625-634.

10. Shah SA, Sander S, White CM, et al. Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: a meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis 2007;7(7):473-480.

11. Schapowal A, Berger D, Klein P, et al. Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: a randomized double-blind trial. Eur J Med Res 2009;14(9):406-12.

12. Turner RB, Bauer R, Woelkart K, et al. An evaluation ofEchinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections. N Engl J Med 2005;353(4):341-348. 

I)Use of a standardized extract from Echinacea angustifolia (Polinacea) for the prevention of respiratory tract infections.

Source

Velleja Research, Pontenure, Italy. f.dipierro@vellejaresearch.com 

ABSTRACT

Echinacea preparations are extensively used for the prevention and the management of the common cold. Despite this popularity, the clinical studies on Echinacea have produced mixed results, possibly in part because of the poor characterization of the extracts investigated and the use of different species and/or plant parts for the preparations investigated in the various trials. To address this issue, Polinacea, a highly standardized extract from a well-defined botanical source (roots of Echinacea angustifolia) with a specific phytochemical profile (presence of the complex polysaccharide IDN5405, the phenylethanoid echinacoside, and substantial lack of alkamides) was developed. We have studied whether Polinacea could enhance the immune response subsequent to the influenza vaccination, and whether the use of this preparation could translate into a decreased morbidity from influenza. The preliminary results were encouraging, and suggest that Polinacea could be used for improving the immune response to influenza vaccine. 

II)Correlation between serum zinc levels and successful immunotherapy in recurrent spontaneous abortion patients.

Source

Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: 

Immunotherapy with paternal lymphocytes plays an important role in preventing recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and is an effective treatment for it. This kind of treatment is performed as an immunotherapy method in several centers in the world. It attributes to the production of anti-paternal cytotoxic antibodies (APCAs) in women with RSA. Production of APCA after lymphocyte immunotherapy (LIT) in RSA patients gives them a better chance for successful pregnancy. Regarding the important effect of trace elements on the function of the immune system, we tried to investigate the correlation between serum zinc level and the success of LIT in RSA. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 

Serum zinc concentration was determined in two groups of RSA patients using atomic absorption spectrophotometer systems. Group (a) that responded to the paternal lymphocytes and their cross-match test was positive, and group (b) that had no response to the paternal lymphocytes immunizations and their cross-match test was negative. 

RESULTS: 

Serum zinc levels in group (a) patients were 74.98 ± 11.88 μg/dl, which was significantly higher than those in group (b) with the zinc concentration of 64.22 ± 9.22 μg/dl. 

CONCLUSION: 

Zinc deficiency may be one of the substantial causes of negative results for LIT in RSA patients. Therefore, compensation of zinc defect before LIT can be a promising approach to improve the immune response in patients.

III) Effect of dietary copper on the growth performance, non-specific immunity and resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila of juvenile Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.

Source

School of Life Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China. 

ABSTRACT

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the dietary copper (Cu) on growth performance and immune responses of juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. Six semi-purified diets with six copper levels (1.88, 11.85, 20.78, 40.34, 79.56 and 381.2 mg kg(-1) diet) of CuSO4•5H2O were fed to E. sinensis (0.45 ± 0.01 g). Each diet was fed to the crab in five replicates. The crab fed diets with 20.78 and 40.34 mg Cu kg(-1) diet had significantly greater weight gain and hemolymph oxyhemocyanin content than those fed diets with 1.88 and 381.2 mg Cu kg(-1) diet. Survival rates of crab were not significantly different between all treatment groups. The activities of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD), phenoloxidase (PO), and total hemocyte count (THC) significantly increased when the supplementation of dietary copper reached 20.78-40.34 mg Cu kg(-1) diets. In the bacteria challenge experiment with Aeromonas hydrophila, survival rates significantly increased and reached a plateau when the dietary copper increased from 1.88 to 40.34 mg kg(-1), whereas significantly decreased when the dietary copper increased from 40.34 to 381.2 mg kg(-1). This study indicates that the level of dietary copper is important in regulating growth and immune response in crab. 

IV) Zinc signals and immune function.

Source

Institute of Immunology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, Aachen, Germany. 

ABSTRACT

For more than 50 years, it has been known that zinc deficiency compromises immune function. During this time, knowledge about the biochemistry of zinc has continued to grow, but only recent years have provided in-depth molecular insights into the multiple aspects of zinc as a regulator of immunity. A network based on ZnT and ZIP proteins for transport and metallothionein for storage tightly regulates zinc availability, and virtually all aspects of innate and adaptive immunity are affected by zinc. In vivo, zinc deficiency alters the number and function of neutrophil granulocytes, monocytes, natural killer (NK)-, T-, and B-cells. T cell functions and balance between the different subsets are particularly susceptible to changes in zinc status. This article focuses in particular on the main mechanisms by which zinc ions exert essential functions in the immune system. On the one hand, this includes tightly protein bound zinc ions serving catalytic or structural functions in a multitude of different proteins, in particular enzymes and transcription factors. On the other hand, increasing evidence arises for a regulatory role of free zinc ions in signal transduction, especially in cells of the immune system. Identification of several molecular targets, including phosphatases, phosphodiesterases, caspases, and kinases suggest that zinc ions are a second messenger regulating signal transduction in various kinds of immune cells.