How Echinaforce is Made
Follow the seed from tincture to bottle:
Echinaforce is made from the tincture of the species which research has found to be most effective, Echinacea purpurea herb and root. Only fresh, organic herbs are used, with all herbs processed within 24 hours of harvesting. Using only fresh herbs helps us ensure that we preserve a high level of active ingredients.
Echinaforce has been proven to be effective in the treatment of colds and flu. It helps the body fight the virus and therefore helps you feel better, quicker. Available in both fresh herb tincture and tincture tablet format, Echinaforce® is easy to take at any time.
Alfred Vogel described Echinaforce as his 'best remedy in practice' and took it every day. The following pages take you through each stage of the process that all Echinaforce tinctures and tablets will have followed before reaching you.
From Seed to Small Plant
Each February we sow our own harvest of natural, untreated seeds in a greenhouse. We plant three seeds into each biodegradable pot. Healthy organically-grown seedlings appear in March. We collect rain-water and use it to irrigate the seedlings.
The gardeners decide when the seedlings are strong enough to be planted out, usually in May. The young plants are then planted out in the fields by machine.
Small Plant to Harvest
Our soil is free of chemicals - the fields are enriched with our own organic compost. We use a gentle brush hoe in the early stages to keep the fields free of weeds. As soon as the plants are larger, they are weeded by hand. In early to mid-July the plants begin to bloom.
Echinacea purpurea flowers are a favorite landing site for insects. In July the fields break out in a sea of colorful blossoms and the harvest begins.
After the Harvest
Before processing begins, harvested plants undergo the first of many quality checks. After the fresh Echinacea plants are harvested, the roots of the 3-year-old plants are taken. The root extract is a valuable component (5%) of Echinaforce.
A number of the plants are not harvested, remaining in the fields for their seeds to ripen. In February it's time to restart the yearly cycle practiced for half a century perpetuating the seeds from Black Elk.
Fresh Plant Processing
As each fresh crop of Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) arrives, the quality control laboratory is notified and the plants undergo their initial quality examination.
Then the fresh Echinacea purpurea plants go to the chopping machinery which cuts them into small pieces.
From there they go into the maceration tank where they are mixed with alcohol. This gentle extraction process draws out the most water- and alcohol-soluble substances. The mixture is blended at various times during its time in the tank.
Through all processing stages, samples are taken for the quality control laboratory and they are stringently tested. Further procedures are only initiated if quality requirements are met at this point.
More than 100 Inspections
The Echinaforce tincture must pass more than 100 controls before release for delivery and for the tablets we do almost 90 additional steps of quality testing.
After the initial testing of harvested plants, the chopped plant material is subjected to lengthy examinations. All auxiliary materials such as the water and ethanol are also tested continuously.
The tinctures both from plant parts above ground level and from the roots are all examined very closely, and then the final mixture is assayed.
The glass bottles and the bottle caps must be inspected. Labels, folding cartons and package inserts all undergo testing as well.
A final, decisive quality hurdle remains to be taken when the filled bottles leave the production area. Only when all the tests have been done according to regulation and quality parameters and confirmed with a stamp of approval, can A.Vogel Echinaforce products be shipped from the warehouse in Roggwil.