Black European Elderberry
Elderberry Syrup - You’ve used it, you’ve made it, or maybe you’ve never heard of it, but the humble black European elderberry is a tiny wealth of nutrition that packs quite a punch when you are facing viral illness. In several small studies, taking four doses of black elderberry extract daily (starting within 48 hours of symptom onset) reduced the duration of influenza by four days, and greatly reduced the need for rescue medication!
As a young girl, my parents chose to treat our childhood illnesses at home. I am the seventh of eight children, and I reaped the benefit of years of research and experience on their part. The eldest two were 2 and 4 years old when my mother was widowed at twenty-three. She rushed them to the doctor for every sore throat, fever, and sniffle, and it seemed to her like every other week. When she married my father, he had been researching natural alternatives for years. He had suffered stomach issues since he was a boy and found that medical solutions weren’t helping.
This experience led to the realization that the answers for many of our health needs are found in creation. No one is deficient in medicine, but many of us lack vitamins and minerals that are essential for our health and thriving. All that we put in and on our bodies affects our health.
My Experience
Help for many acute issues can be found in the plant world. I began to make elderberry syrup a few years ago and developed a recipe with additional herbs that I found helped my family heal more quickly from flus, colds, or other “bugs” that pop up from time to time. Busy friends started asking me to make some for them, and I loved hearing the stories of how quickly it helped people get better or even prevented sickness in many who commonly dealt with frequent illnesses.
Black Elderberry has been used for many centuries for viruses, allergies, constipation, skin issues, and even arthritis.
You may have seen fierce warnings about black elderberries. Are they poisonous? The twigs, leaves, seeds, and roots contain a cyanide inducing glycoside. If you eat those, or unripe berries, depending on the amount you eat, you could experience nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. But eating a few raw, ripe berries has not caused any significant issues for anyone I know.
Elderberry Syrup
So, what is this amazing elixir that has helped so many? In the fall, when sunshine is less abundant, sugar use increases, and Vitamin D levels drop in the population, people may become sick with symptoms of fever, weakness, respiratory congestion, cough and more. The pharmaceutical industry sponsors drug studies, but for natural products that can’t be patented, the funding isn’t there. However, there have been several small clinical studies* on the benefits of elderberry extract or syrup for both influenza and colds. A few of those are summarized and linked below if you wish to read them.
How to Make Elderberry Syrup
It’s easy to make elderberry syrup for your family in your own home. The studies were done on European Black Elderberry (Sambucus Nigra), but American elder seems to have the same beneficial properties.
You can find dried organic or wildcrafted elderberries online, or if you’re certain of identity, you can pick some from the woods. Beware of pokeweed, or other poisonous “look-alike” berries. Make sure you take out the twigs or leaves, as they contain high amounts of the toxin you want to avoid. You can freeze the wild fresh berries to make it easier to remove them from the twigs.
You can also add other herbs if you want. This recipe is from Wellness Mama and is a great basic recipe.
Ingredients
3 1/2 C Water
2/3 C Dried Black European Elderberries (or 1 1/3 C fresh or frozen)
2 Tbs grated ginger (or 1 Tbs dried)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 C raw honey (as local to you as possible)
Instructions
Pour the water into a medium saucepan and add the elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
Bring to a boil and then uncover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes until the liquid has reduced by almost half.
Remove from heat and let cool until it's lukewarm.
Mash the berries carefully using a spoon or other flat utensil.
Pour through a strainer or cheesecloth into a glass jar or bowl. Discard the elderberries.
When the liquid is no longer hot, add the cup of honey and stir well.
When the honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a mason jar or glass bottle of some kind.
Good work! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take a little daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity. You can also freeze in cubes for future use if your family won’t use the full amount within a few weeks.
You can find elderberry syrup in drugstores, but it often contains glucose and other detrimental ingredients. Healthier versions can be found in health food stores.
The best of health to you and your family!
*Below, find brief summaries and links to some Elderberry Studies and Abstracts.
In Norway, they did a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of elderberry syrup.
Symptoms were relieved an average of FOUR DAYS EARLIER than placebo.
"Elderberry has been used in folk medicine for centuries to treat influenza, colds and sinusitis, and has been reported to have antiviral activity against influenza and herpes simplex. 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."
Inhibitory activity of a standardized elderberry liquid extract against clinically-relevant human respiratory bacterial pathogens and influenza A and B viruses.
Anti-influenza virus effects of elderberry juice and its fractions.
”We conclude that (concentrated juice of elderberry) had a beneficial effect by the stimulating immune response and preventing viral infection.”- PubMed - NCBI
Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travelers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.
”A complete cure was achieved within 2 to 3 days in nearly 90% of the SAM-treated group and within at least 6 days in the placebo group"…” - PubMed - NCBI
Inhibition of several strains of influenza virus in vitro and reduction of symptoms by an elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra L.) during an outbreak... “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. More research is warranted to confirm this effect and to evaluate elderberry's physical and mental health benefits…” - PubMed - NCBI
The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines. “We conclude from this study that, in addition to its antiviral properties, Sambucol Elderberry Extract and its formulations activate the healthy immune system by increasing inflammatory cytokine production…”- PubMed - NCBI
Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. “The elderberry extract inhibited Human Influenza A (H1N1) infection in vitro with an IC(50) value of 252+/-34 microg/mL. The Direct Binding Assay established that flavonoids from the elderberry extract bind to H1N1 virions and, when bound, block the ability of the viruses to infect host cells…” - PubMed - NCBI
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