If you peruse the health food store when you have a cold, a supplement containing echinacea and goldenseal may catch your eye. Manufacturers often combine these two herbs into one supplement, and market it as a preventative and treatment for colds. This supplement comes in both liquid and tablet form; each has benefits and drawbacks. Ask your doctor before taking a cold preparation containing goldenseal and echinacea, since these herbs, although two of the most popular herbal supplements in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, have no proven health benefits.
Homeopathic Combinations
Homeopathic practitioners use extremely diluted amounts of herbs sold as liquid extracts, sometimes called tinctures, to treat diseases, believing that diluting the substance to the point where it's no longer detectible makes it stronger. If you choose to take homeopathic echinacea and goldenseal, it comes in a liquid form. You measure homeopathic medicines in drops, often placing it beneath your tongue for more rapid absorption. Homeopathic remedies have no proven health benefits.
Non-Homeopathic Tablets
You can buy non-homeopathic supplements containing echinacea and goldenseal in liquid or tablet form. No therapeutic dosage has been established for these herbs, so the amount found in commercial supplements can vary. Most manufacturers produce tablet forms of echinacea and goldenseal. Tablets are stable compounds meant to break down for absorption in the small intestine. Your body typically absorbs only a small percentage of the ingredients in tablets, depending on when you last ate and the type of drug, but manufacturers adjust dosages to compensate. Some people have trouble swallowing tablets.
Liquid Supplements
Some manufacturers claim that the body absorbs liquid preparations more rapidly and effectively than tablets. This theory has not been proven in clinical trials, according to Consumer Reports. Some of the liquid may be absorbed directly from the stomach, which means it gets into your bloodstream faster. Liquid preparations of echinacea and goldenseal are easier to swallow than tablets, although they may have an unpleasant taste. Liquid supplements may cost more than pills; they also may lose their potency more quickly.
Warnings
Goldenseal contains a chemical called berberine, which can cause jaundice in newborns if taken during pregnancy or in breastfeeding infants. Do not take this supplement if pregnant or breastfeeding in any form, including homeopathic preparations, without your doctor's approval. If you have an autoimmune disease or have had an organ transplant and take immunosuppressive drugs, do not take this preparation. Echinacea can affect your immune system's response. If you have an allergy to plants in the daisy family, echinacea could cause a severe allergic reaction.
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