Influenza begins suddenly with fever, headache, muscle aches, sore throat and an unproductive cough, usually lasting 5–7 days. Although most recover, the CDC estimates seasonal flu causes more than 36,000 deaths and 200,000 additional hospitalizations from complications. Children are two to three times more likely than adults to catch and transmit it (1).
An appropriate vaccine generally helps prevent infection, but is not always effective against particular strains. The article also describes antiviral medicines developed to prevent viral replication as intended only for patients aged 12 or older (2).
Black elderberries have been used in folk medicine for a century for flu, colds and sinusitis. The source describes them as safe for all ages, including children and infants (3). They contain high flavonoid levels with demonstrated antiviral properties (4). Flavonoids stimulate immunity and prevent influenza infection and attachment to cell receptors (5,6).
A placebo-controlled study examined elderberry extract for human flu. It included 60 patients aged 18–54 with flu in Norway in 1999–2000, randomly divided into two groups of 30. They received 15 mL elderberry syrup or placebo four times daily for five days. Symptoms were recorded on an analogue scale from zero, no improvement, to ten, marked improvement. The first dose was given within 48 hours of flu-like symptom onset. Rescue medicines, including nasal spray and painkillers, were allowed as needed.
Most scores showed substantial improvement after 3.1 days with elderberry, compared with 7.1 days with placebo. Medication use was significantly lower: five elderberry patients needed nasal spray versus 21 controls, and seven used painkillers versus 26 controls.
The study indicates that elderberry syrup can help reduce symptoms by 3–4 days compared with placebo (7).
References:
1. Obtained from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. “Flu (Influenza)
2. Nicholson KG et al., Efficacy and safety of oseltamivir in treatment of acute influenza: a randomized controlled trial. Neuraminidase Inhibitor Flu Treatment Investiagtor Group. Lancet. 2000; (355):1845-1850.
3. British Herbal Medicine Association: British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Bournemouth: BHMA Publicaiton, 1983; 186-187.
4. Long JK, et al., Antiviral agents for treat influenza. Cleve Clin J Med. 2000(67): 92-95
5. Amaros M, et al., Synergistic effect of flavones and flavonols against herpes simplex virus type 2 in cell cultures. Comparison with the antiviral activity of propolis. J Nat Prod. 1992(55) 1732-1740.
6. Barak V., et al., The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw 2001; (12): 290-296.
7. Zakay-Rones, Z., et al. “Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections.” The Journal of international medical research 32.2 (2004): 132-140