May offer protection against cancer

Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation. In vitro research has revealed that echinacea extracts can inhibit cancer cell development and even cause cancer cell death. An extract of Echinacea purpurea and chicoric acid (naturally contained in echinacea plants) was proven in one test-tube investigation to induce cancer cell death. Extracts from echinacea plants (Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea Angustifolia, and Echinacea pallida) destroyed human cancer cells from the pancreas and colon in another test-tube investigation by triggering apoptosis, or regulated cell death.

This effect is thought to be caused by echinacea's immune-boosting characteristics. There was some fear that echinacea would interfere with traditional cancer therapies like doxorubicin, but later research has identified no such connection.