Acute use of Cistus tea is effective for faster recovery from flu - anti-viral

[cs3000]

The benefits of cistus for recovery from flu "Cistus incanus (CYSTUS052) for treating patients with infection of the upper respiratory tract"
https://pdfslide.net/documents/cist...ients-with-infection-of-the-upper.html?page=2

shows cistus significantly helped reduce flu symptoms by days 4 - 7. one theory is the polymeric type of polyphenols in cistus bind to viruses preventing them from entering cells.

total polyphenols used were 220 mg

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People often say you need to re-infuse this multiple times to extract more polyphenols but i found a study showing the standard 1 time is better - the highest polyphenol content is extracted on first brew. Best way is to boil, add tea and let it sit in there for 10-15 minutes (can cover the top if wanted, mix it around a bit) and vast majority is extracted.

^https://www.researchgate.net/public...s_markers_and_lipid_profile_in_healthy_adults
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Each 1g of cistus will get you 50mg - 100mg of polyphenols https://www.researchgate.net/figure...coated-seeds-stored-at-RTS-and_fig3_318561195 ,

so averaging 75mg you would need 3 teas with 1 gram of tea in each daily to replicate the flu recovery study dose, drank on empty stomach. - with a 1teaspoon scoop 1 gram of dry non-powdered tea comes to pretty much a flat scoop. the study used 2 lozenges ~36mg total, 6 times a day. each one dissolved in 10 minutes. so could sip the tea 1/2 cup at a time if you want to get really specific.

Only thing to note is polyphenols can chelate iron & some other metals - so maybe not good for day to day use over weeks & months if you're typically low in iron/ferritin (but maybe good this way if you're on the high end). Looks good for 1 week use acutely when coming down with a cold

 

[cs3000]

also something else you can add (or replace with) is elderberry also high in polyphenols & shown to work well against colds in studies

Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

[PDF] Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial | Semantic Scholar

Data suggest a significant reduction of cold duration and severity in air travelers, and more research is warranted to confirm this effect and to evaluate elderberry’s physical and mental health benefits. Intercontinental air travel can be stressful, especially for respiratory health...

pdfs.semanticscholar.org

Elderberries have been used traditionally, and in some observational and clinical studies, as supportive agents against the common cold and influenza. This randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of 312 economy class passengers travelling from Australia to an overseas destination aimed to investigate if a standardised membrane filtered elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) extract has beneficial effects on physical, especially respiratory, and mental health.
For all participants treatment would commence 10 days before flying overseas and would be completed five days after arriving at the travel destination. Placebo group participants had a significantly longer duration of cold episode days (117 vs. 57, p = 0.02) and the average symptom score over these days was also significantly higher (583 vs. 247, p = 0.05). These data suggest a significant reduction of cold duration and severity in air travelers.

1/2 the sick days and 1/2 the symptoms in elderberry group

The dose selection was based on dosages used by popular elderberry products which range from 650 mg to 1500 mg per day). The trial dose used here is similar with participants required to take two capsules per day (600 mg) during the priming phase (before travel, ´10 until ´2 days) and three capsules per day (900 mg) while travelling and overseas (´1 until +4 days).

^ 600mg extract of 22% polyphenol & 15% anthocyansins. 90–135 mg of anthocyanins daily in BerryPharma® upped to 900mg when travelling

120mg - 180mg polyphenols also contains polysaccarides

typical anthocyanins content in non concentrated elderberry powder (813 ± 156 mg/100g) so 500mg 10:1 extract 5g equivalent = 40mg anthocyanins *so take 3x 500g 1.5g total daily of standard 10:1 extract assuming polyphenols found in similar ratio as study elderberry


Only take the fruit (berry) , not the other plant parts as likely harmful

elderberry located in haschberg / sampo is highest in polyphenols


elderberry+cyanide info, it contains cyanogenic glycosides. "sugar derivatives that can generate cyanide, but Cyanogenic Glycoside Analysis in American Elderberry this is not in harmful levels if found at least confirmed in american elderberry. - "Concentration levels in all tissues were generally low and at a level that poses no threat to consumers of fresh and processed AE products." (Missouri Department of Agriculture). cooking / processing them can reduce 50% also.
in european elderberry i found up to 0.59 µg cyanogenic glycosides per gram wet weight so 1.5g dry, 15g wet would be 8.85micrograms. highest one i found 0.4mg/g of dry matter (as is more when crushed), so 1.5g of extract would be 1.2mg. (1.2mg is on the edge of tolerable intake, probably ok going by the EFSA review). "Analysis of Cyanogenic Compounds Derived from Mandelonitrile by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in Rosaceae and Sambucus Families"

tolerable conservative intakes are 20micrograms/kg bodyweight:

In 2016, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) published a scientific opinion on the acute health risks related to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides (CNGs) in raw apricot kernels in which an acute reference dose (ARfD) of 20 μg/kg body weight (bw) was established for cyanide (CN). An ARfD for cyanide of 20 μg/kg bw was derived from a study where exposure to a dose of 0.105 mg/kg bw was associated with a non-toxic blood cyanide level of 20 μM
In the present opinion, the CONTAM Panel concluded that this ARfD is applicable for acute effects of CN regardless the dietary source. ARfD (acute reference dose) is an estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water that can be ingested over a short period of time, usually during one meal or one day, without appreciable health risk to the consumer.
For exposure to cyanide from foods other than raw apricot kernels, bitter almonds and cassava roots, this ARfD is likely to be over-conservative because of the lower bioavailability of cyanide from these foods, but establishment of different ARfDs for different types of food is not appropriate. The CONTAM Panel concludes that the ARfD of 20 μg CN/kg bw should be protective for acute effects of CN from CNGs, regardless of the dietary source


Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections - PubMed another flu study worked well

We investigated the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry syrup for treating influenza A and B infections. Sixty patients (aged 18-54 years) suffering from influenza-like symptoms for 48 h or less were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study during the influenza season of 1999-2000 in Norway. Patients received 15 ml of elderberry or placebo syrup four times a day for 5 days, and recorded their symptoms using a visual analogue scale. Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier and use of rescue medication was significantly less in those receiving elderberry extract compared with placebo. Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.


700mg extract 175mg before each meal + 1 before bed Wayback Machine

Elderberry Extract Outpatient Influenza Treatment for Emergency Room Patients Ages 5 and Above: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - PubMed 15ml (5.7g) elderberry berry "fruit juice equivalent" 4x a day for 5 days did not work BUT 1. patients "permitted to choose to also receive the standard dosage of oseltamivir" (an anti-viral), so did not boost the anti-viral effects further + 2. ^ need the actual berry not the juice?

review Sambucus nigra (black elder) as alternative treatment for cold and flu

some things to note, same thing with metal chelation, also some people mentioned estrogen connection - but this Influence of Berry-Polyphenols on Receptor Signaling and Cell-Death Pathways: Implications for Breast Cancer Prevention Effects of Phytoestrogen Extracts Isolated from Elder Flower on Hormone Production and Receptor Expression of Trophoblast Tumor Cells JEG-3 and BeWo, as well as MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells says it has anti-estrogen effects on tumor/cancer cells in right conditions so idk
Our results clearly demonstrate beneficial features of EFE [elderflower extracts] in the setting of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer MCF7 cells by inhibition of estrogen secretion, downregulation of Erα, and upregulation of PR. Decreased local and circulating estrogen concentrations are certainly considered an advantage in treating breast cancer. In that view, EFE could be related to reduced tumor cell proliferation, possibly suggesting a protective effect on breast cancer. Nevertheless, the results and the conclusions made must be interpreted with caution as this is an in vitro cell culture study.
In breast cancer cells, anthocyanidins- cyanidin, delphinidin and pelargonidin, bind to ERs and significantly reduce 17β estradiol (E2)-induced ERE-luciferase expression acting like an antiestrogen. Many of these phytochemicals are agonists of ER, in that they can induce cell proliferation in MCF-7 cells in the absence of E2. However in the presence of E2, they antagonize E2 action, thus acting as antiestrogens. In such in vitro studies, the dose used may have a specific effect on the outcome. For example, if a particular polyphenol is used at a very high concentration in culture, it could simply compete for the receptor and displace E2, the natural ligand, resulting in an antiestrogenic activity. Quercetin, kaempferol and resveratrol show distinct dose-dependent biphasic effects (Table 3). It has been postulated that since these compounds bind to ERβ with a greater affinity than ERα and their growth retarding effects are ERβ-mediated (21, 24). However, quercetin stimulates MCF7 cell-proliferation at 10 μM, whereas inhibits it significantly at 100 μM (22), supporting our theory of dose-dependent displacement of the natural ligand.