Elderberry has long been used in my family for colds. usually a tea made from the flowers.Quite pleasant
I have made
Elderberry Champagne (supposedly non-alcoholic) which is simplicity to make and if you get it right as good as its French namesake ( By the by it is still legal to use the word Champagne in England when referring to Elderberry Champagne. No wonder the French and English hate each other!)
A friend used to make
Elderberry Wine from the berries. Very tasty, like a fruity port Very alcoholic. (The only time I have really seen double after drinking. I could't find her doorway, or which doorway, to go home.)
We only seem to see the Canadian Elderberry in this country. It is more like a big bush with -3+M long canes coming from the base.
I don't think I have ever seen the real Elderberry tree.
This is from a review of Anti Viral Plants.
I did find an interesting List of anti- virals but seem to have lost it.
Probably best to look at one at a time anyway
From (More plants here too..)
http://www.intmedpress.com/Journal%2...07104209330C52
Quote:
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Sambucus nigra L
Extracts of various parts of Sambucus spp. have their
place in folk medicine and contain potential antivirals
such as flavonoids, triterpenes, tannins and phenolic
acids [22].
In vitro testing of a standardized preparation based
on the berries of the black elder indicated antiinfluenza
virus properties and led to its use in a double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT during an influenza B epidemic [24].
The study group consisted of 40 individuals and most showed serological
evidence of influenza B infection. Children received two and adults four tablespoons per day of either standardized elderberry syrup (Sambucol) or placebo.
In the treated group, higher mean antibody titres in convalescent-phase sera indicated an enhanced immune response to the virus, though this did not
reach the level of significance. There was, however,
significantly faster recovery in the treated group.
Similar positive results have recently been obtained from a further RCT, details of which have been extracted from an abstract [25].
Sixty patients suffering from flu-like symptoms for less than 48 hwere treated with 15 ml elderberry syrup or placebo four times per day for 5 days.
Patients recorded and scored symptoms four times per day during treatment and twice per day for 9 days thereafter. In the elderberry-treated group symptoms disappeared an average of 4 days earlier than in the placebo group (P<0.001).
A therapeutic effect on flu-like symptoms was also
indicated by significantly less use of rescue medication
in the elderberry-treated group.
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