A couple of months makes a lot of difference. Just 60 days ago if you suggested elderberry could help battle COVID you'd promptly be censored by Google for "spreading disinformation"---then you would have been kicked off of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Now the science has apparently reversed so much that an extract manufacturer has applied for an international patent for the COVID-fighting benefits of their specific elderberry formula. According to a press release published in April at NutraIngredients.com the research was provided by The University of Erlangen, Institute for Virology under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schubert.The researchers studied the effect of elderberry extract on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and found "the extract inhibits the replication of the wild-type virus, as well as the variants of concern Alpha and Beta, at very low concentrations." The results prompted the extract manufacturer that sponsored the research to promptly file a patent for its brand of elderberry extract. Did the evidence change... or the politics of COVID? The evidence didn't change. In fact, the study introduction even acknowledged, "The scientific studies build on centuries of use of black elderberry (Sambucus nigra, L.) to treat flu and flu-like symptoms." Besides the centuries of traditional use, modern studies also abounded long before the onset of the COVID pandemic. Some notable examples include: • A study conducted 20 years ago at The University of Oslo School of Medicine in Norway found that elderberry extract reduced flu symptoms in test subjects. The results were published in The Journal of International Medical Research. • Just over ten years ago, in 2011, Justus-Liebig University in Germany found that elderberry was "active against human pathogenic bacteria as well as influenza viruses." The research was published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. • And five years ago an Australian study found that elderberry extract reduced the symptoms and duration of the common cold (a Coronavirus) in air travelers. The study was conducted at Griffith University, Queensland, and was published in Nutrients. Elderberry popular immune builder during pandemic In addition to the traditional use and modern research, the actions of consumers during the pandemic was very telling. In the middle of the pandemic the American Botanical Council reported surging sales of elderberry products. According to data provider SPINS, in the year up to the end of November 2020, sales of elderberry products in the U.S. mainstream supplements channel grew a whopping169%.In conclusion, elderberry enjoys a long history of centuries of use as an anti-viral. It is backed by hundreds of studies demonstrating its efficacy. It occupies the top spot in sales of immune-supporting herbals. It has experienced skyrocketing use during the COVID pandemic... and now patents are in progress for specific brands and formulations of elderberry extract, specifically as a COVID fighter. Do you need any further evidence? Add elderberry to your herbal medicine collection today! Elderberry extract is one of the immune building nutrients found in Optimal Defense by Optimal Health Systems. Click banner ad on this page to learn more. - - - Sources: Links included within article.
