Any advice for buying echinacea online?

Brodel

I went to Holland and Barrett's today where 60 capsules of Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract (140mg) costs £12.55. http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-echinacea-cold-flu-capsules-60097272?c=echinacea

I just had a quick look online and found 120 capsules of Echinacea Powder (whole herb equivalent) 3200mg that costs only £7.69 http://www.simplysupplements.net/product/99/echinacea-3200mg/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ctc&utm_campaign=2014-12-08&gclid=CjwKEAiA2JqkBRDshIOY_9eMghkSJABvNd1QIL9VNrDw-wcn2W3jvyK_SSx9A8KujlqCgfD--_7_ihoC-D_w_wcB

Does anyone know why the Holland and Barrett version might be so much more expensive? Is there a difference between Echinacea Root Extract and Echinacea Powder (whole herb equivalent), that makes 3200mg of the latter sound better than it actually is?

nodiscount

Holland and barrett is a rip off IMHO.
You can get echinacea from tesco with their 3 for 2 offer.
Or you can try eBay, Amazon or lindens.co.uk. I never go Holland and barrett. Too overpriced.

Hedgehog99

I've used this one before:
http://www.avogel.co.uk/herbal-remedies/echinacea-echinaforce/

...which seems to have more herb and less root than the H&B one you found.

Some cheaper products use less effective species of plant, but beyond that, I'm not sure how to compare doses of root & whole plant.

The A Vogel ones seemed good for me, and I preferred taking a tablet to a capsule.

A.Penny.Saved

What is the reason for you wanting to use this herb? There might be more effective things to use.

Extracts are meant to offer what are believed to be the active constituents in a concentrated form which reduces the amount required. The cynical, such as me, think that they only benefit the manufacturer to reduce costs by buying concentrated sources for cheaper prices and then selling at a premium.

KxMx

I used to buy the Echinacea capsules from H&B when on offer, instead of the lower quality (IMO) tablets. Most places only sell the tablets which I don't like.

H&B only sell the tablets now so looking elsewhere i got these which are identical to those sold by H&B but a fraction of the cost. Slight difference in ingredients of shell. Reputable US brand. Wish i'd found them long ago!

lexa34

A Vogel, Solgar, Viridian, Nature's Aid etc... much better quality supplements.