Elderberry has antiviral properties against H1N1 flu virus

UPDATED
Reuters:

NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent research study has given new scientific evidence to the long-held empirical belief that elderberries possess antiviral activities. The research involved a specific, reproducible elderberry extract developed by HerbalScience Group LLC, and succeeded in identifying key chemical components of the extract that inhibited in vitro infection and were shown to bind directly to Human Influenza A (H1N1) virus particles. The binding blocked the ability of the viruses to enter host cells, and thereby effectively preventing H1N1 infection in vitro.

An article detailing the study, titled "Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in  vitro," has been published in the peer-review scientific journal Phytochemistry. . . .

The research results are notable not only because they identified and characterized two specific flavonoids (plant nutrients that are beneficial to health) that are the major contributors to the anti-influenza activity of the elderberry extract, but also verified how the flavonoids provide that benefit,  via direct binding to H1N1 virus particles and blocking the virus from infecting host cells.

This recent study provides scientific evidence in support of some of the traditional uses of elderberry:

Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, hence the medicinal benefits of elderberries are being investigated and rediscovered. Elderberry is used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, to improve vision, to boost the immune system, to improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. People with the flu who took elderberry juice reported less severe symptoms and felt better much faster than those who did not. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

UPDATE:  Move over Tamiflu! Here's an impressive quote from the abstract to the recent study.

The H1N1 inhibition activities of the elderberry flavonoids compare favorably to the known anti-influenza activities of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu; 0.32 microM) and Amantadine (27 microM).

The study was published in July 2009 in Phytochemistry "Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro" by Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, McMichael MD, Li D, Alberte RS.