“Elderberry shortens colds or influenza.”
Elderberry has not been shown to shorten colds or flu, and the most careful flu trial found no difference in recovery time.
Elderberry is not a proven way to get over a cold or the flu faster. What is known to help is the yearly flu vaccine, and early antiviral medicine for people at higher risk of flu complications.
If you get flu symptoms and are in a higher-risk group, call your healthcare provider within the first day or two instead of starting with elderberry.
Safety note: Elderberry does not replace a flu vaccine or a prescription flu medicine. Flu antivirals work best when started within 1 to 2 days of the first symptoms, so do not wait to see if elderberry helps if you are at higher risk. Raw or unripe elderberries, and the leaves and stems of the plant, contain substances that can cause nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea; cooking removes them.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you have flu symptoms and are at higher risk of complications (for example pregnancy, asthma or other lung disease, diabetes or heart disease), or your symptoms are severe or getting worse.
A few small, older trials of brand-name products reported faster recovery, but the most rigorous flu trial, in people with lab-confirmed flu, found no benefit. Confidence is Limited because so few people have been studied and the positive trials were small, company-sponsored and rated very low certainty.
Elderberry has not been shown to shorten colds or flu, and the most careful flu trial found no difference in recovery time. A few small, older studies reported faster recovery, but a 2020 trial in 87 people with confirmed flu found people got better just as fast on a placebo.
The early flu studies that looked good were small (27, 60 and 64 people), tested brand-name syrups or lozenges, and each listed a company sponsor. Reviewers rated that evidence very low certainty. In the 2020 trial, people took elderberry extract or a placebo for 5 days. Symptoms eased to mild in 5.3 days with elderberry and 4.9 days with placebo, and went away fully in 8.6 and 8.7 days. For colds, the only trial counted just 29 people who caught a cold, so it is too small to settle the question.
- Macknin M, Wolski K, Negrey J, Mace S. Elderberry Extract Outpatient Influenza Treatment for Emergency Room Patients Ages 5 and Above: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2020;35(11):3271-3277. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06170-w. PMID: 32929634
- Wieland LS, Piechotta V, Feinberg T, Ludeman E, Hutton B, Kanji S, Seely D, Garritty C. Elderberry for prevention and treatment of viral respiratory illnesses: a systematic review. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2021;21(1):112. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-021-03283-5. PMID: 33827515
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Elderberry: Usefulness and Safety. Last updated November 2024
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treating Flu with Antiviral Drugs. Last updated June 26, 2026