Table 1.
Effect of echinacea on serum and lung cytokines
| Echinacea only median (IQR) (pg/ml) | Null median (IQR) (pg/ml) | P value null vs. Untreated | Untreated median (IQR) (pg/ml) | P value untreated vs. treated | Treated median (IQR) (pg/ml) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IFN γ | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 0.34 (0.33, 0.34) | 0.34(0.0,0.96) | 0.006 | 4.54 (1.87, 7.81) | 0.2 | 3.04 (0.38, 5.31) |
| Serum day 7 | 0.9 (0.53, 1.36) | 0 (0, 2) | 0.01 | 673 (497, 969) | 0.01 | 173 (143, 188) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 0.00(0.00,0.0) | 0.025 | 2.21 (1.11, 3.42) | 0.9 | 2.21 (0.31, 3.86) |
| Lung day 7 | 0.06 (0, 0.13) | 1.5 (0.0, 5.0) | 0.005 | 78.2(52.7,8354) | 0.3 | 92.9 (6.9,2004) |
| IL-10 | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 6.2 (5.5, 6.8) | 18.2(3.2,32.6) | 0.004 | 76.2 (54.1, 89.0) | 0.067 | 44.1 (24.6, 64.8) |
| Serum day 7 | 13.1 (4.3, 21.8) | 26 (18, 45) | 0.011 | 243 (204, 286) | 0.015 | 66 (63, 168) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 0.00 (0.0, 0.0) | 0.16 | 0.00 (0.00, 8.67) | 0.6 | 0.00 (0.00, 5.40) |
| Lung day 7 | 4.6 (0, 9.3) | 2 (0, 57) | 0.005 | 992 (645, 2237) | 0.003 | 327 (55, 473) |
| KC | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 90 (56, 124) | 95 (89, 102) | 0.004 | 265 (201, 364) | 0.002 | 160 (88, 188) |
| Serum day 7 | 66 (65, 68) | 94 (74, 112) | 0.011 | 208 (174, 254) | 0.5 | 170 (143, 271) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 60 (48, 70) | 0.009 | 533 (456, 623) | 0.014 | 349 (146, 493) |
| Lung day 7 | 55 (47, 64) | 39 (16, 67) | 0.005 | 603 (458, 669) | 0.2 | 360 (286, 592) |
| IL-12 | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 691 (519, 811) | 861(831, 964) | 0.013 | 1321(1021,1494) | 0.12 | 1024 (864,1318) |
| Serum day 7 | 1296(1289,1303) | 865(678,1176) | 0.5 | 988 (699, 1694) | 0.8 | 1229 (743,1629) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 254 (186,379) | 0.012 | 1669(1391,1949) | 0.045 | 1342 (470,1630) |
| Lung day 7 | 317 (246, 388) | 213 (98, 421) | 0.005 | 1992 (936, 2355) | 0.4 | 1167 (999,2099) |
| IL-5 | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 3.69 (1.90, 5.48) | 3.2 (2.4, 3.2) | 0.014 | 8.5 (4.4, 9.9) | 0.4 | 5.9 (4.7, 6.6) |
| Serum day 7 | 7.61 (7.37, 7.85) | 6.7 (5.5, 10.6) | 0.088 | 15.8 (9.5, 28.5) | 0.025 | 43.0 (19.6, 61.6) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 0.05(0.0,0.27) | 0.019 | 7.63(4.78, 11.57) | 0.021 | 2.57 (1.41, 6.56) |
| Lung day 7 | 0.54 (0.41, 0.68) | 1 (0, 3) | 0.007 | 108 (10, 171) | 0.7 | 139 (21, 284) |
| TNFα | ||||||
| Serum day 3 | 3.58 (1.78, 5.38) | 58(26.6,65.6) | 0.4 | 30.2 (0.0, 59.4) | 0.4 | 46.0 (33.0, 56.1) |
| Serum day 7 | 23.0 (22.8, 23.3) | 12.4 (0,34.9) | 0.5 | 13.0 (0.1, 29.7) | 0.6 | 32.5 (0.0, 53.9) |
| Lung day 3 | - | 0.00 (0, 3.28) | 0.7 | 0.00 (0.00, 0.0) | 0.075 | 1.18 (0.00, 6.2) |
| Lung day 7 | 1.15 (0, 2.29) | 0.0 (0.0, 1.2) | 0.03 | 81.3 (7.9, 140.3) | 0.17 | 17.3 (8.0, 38.7) |
Cytokine levels for uninfected, treated mice (Flu(−)/Ech(+)), uninfected, untreated mice (Flu(−)/Ech(−)), infected, untreated mice (Flu(+)/Ech(−)), and infected, treated mice (Flu(+)/Ech(+)). Median and interquartile range for each group is presented, in pg/ml. Influenza effect: p values comparing null to untreated mice are presented in the column adjoining these two groups. Echinacea effect: p values comparing untreated to treated mice are presented in the column adjoining these two groups. Summary of levels for each cytokine, shown separately by tissue (serum or lung), number of days after infection (D3 or D7) and treatment group (echinacea only (Flu(−)/Ech(+)), null (Flu(−)/Ech(−)), untreated (Flu(+)/Ech(−)), and treated (Flu(+)/Ech(+)). All values are medians (IQR).