Elderberry has powerful immune-modulating activity

Elderberry is frequently used to treat influenza and common colds, but the mode of immune-boosting action has not been fully understood.

The elderberry may stimulate the immune system, or may have a direct antiviral effect. Stich and colleagues at the Department of Immune Modulation of the Friedrich-Alexander university in Germany studied the immune modulatory effects of a elderberry-derived water extract and its polysaccharide-enriched fractions by looking at immune cell responses. The studyshowed that the water extract and its polysaccharide components potently stimulated immube cell maturation and stimulation. Ste study addressed several types of molecular immune responses, and comcluded that the polysaccharides in elderberry had powerful immune-modulating effects, which serve as the foundation for a robust immune-mediated response to viruses such as influenza.

The elderberry may stimulate the immune system, or may have a direct antiviral effect. Stich and colleagues at the Department of Immune Modulation of the Friedrich-Alexander university in Germany studied the immune modulatory effects of a elderberry-derived water extract and its polysaccharide-enriched fractions by looking at immune cell responses. The study showed that the water extract and its polysaccharide components potently stimulated immune cell maturation and stimulation. Ste study addressed several types of molecular immune responses, and comcluded that the polysaccharides in elderberry had powerful immune-modulating effects, which serve as the foundation for a robust immune-mediated response to viruses such as influenza..

Stich L, Plattner S, McDougall G, Austin C, Steinkasserer A. Polysaccharides from European Black Elderberry Extract Enhance Dendritic Cell Mediated T Cell Immune Responses. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Apr 1;23(7):3949. doi: 10.3390/ijms23073949. PMID: 35409309; PMCID: PMC8999536.