Black Cohosh

Black Cohosh

Native Americans used black cohosh to treat gynecological and other disorders, including sore throats, kidney problems, and depression. Extracts are thought to possess analgesic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Today, black cohosh preparations are used chiefly to treat symptoms associated with menopause....

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Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) contains natural Isoflavones (phytoestrogens) that bind to estrogen receptors and have mild estrogenic activity which may promote effectual labor contractions, relieve false labor pains, facilitate postpartum recovery, and be useful for menopause, PMS, hormonal imbalances, stress, nervousness, muscle cramping, lung congestion, inflammatory conditions and hypertension.

Black cohosh is a tall perennial plant in the buttercup family that grows in eastern and central areas of the United States.

Black cohosh was used by Native Americans as a traditional folk remedy for womens health conditions such as menstrual cramps and hot flashes arthritis muscle pain sore throat cough and indigestion.

The juice of the plant was used as an insect repellent and was made into a salve and applied to snake bites.

Today black cohosh is used primarily as a nutritional supplement for hot flashes mood swings night sweats vaginal dryness and other symptoms that can occur during menopause as well as for menstrual cramps and bloating.

The parts of the plant used medicinally are the fresh or dried roots and rhizomes underground stems which are available in health food stores some drug stores and online in tea capsule tablet or liquid extract forms.

Black Cohosh Wild Herbs Growing

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Used as an infusion, decoction, extract and tincture. Black Cohosh has a long history of use among Native Americans, primarily for female needs, but also for cold and flu, indigestion, hysteria and pain.

Black Cohosh has been shown in numerous studies to be both safe and effective, and is widely used in Europe and the US to relieve the symptoms commonly associated with PMS and menopause (particularly hot flashes, menstrual cramps, changes to the vaginal lining and even depression).

The 1997 Commission E on Phytotherapy and Herbal Substances of the German Federal Institute for Drugs recommends black cohosh for 'Premenstrual discomfort, dysmenorrhea or climacteric [menopausal] neurovegetative ailments.'

'Side Effects: Occasionally, gastric discomfort.'

Duration of Administration: Not longer than 6 months.

Actions: Estrogen-like action; Luteinizing hormone suppression; Binding to estrogen receptors.' Hot flashes are hormonal imbalances caused during menopause when the signals between the ovaries and pituitary gland diminish. This decreases estrogen production and increases the production of luteinizing hormone (LH). A recent German clinical study demonstrated that an extract of black cohosh decreases LH secretions in menopausal women – but produces no hormonal changes. The studies, therefore, support the usefulness of black cohosh for symptomatic relief from hot flashes, but not as a substitute for hormone replacement therapy.

The extract of this plant is sold in great quantities in the US and Europe under the trade name Remifemin. Results of tests comparing Remifemin to combination treatment with estrogens and diazepam have shown treatment with Remifemin to be superior as measured by the Kupperman Menopausal Index.

Other tests such as the Self-evaluation For Depression Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Inventory, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale--all recognized and trusted measures of clinical efficacy--have been used in studies evaluating the performance of Black Cohosh extract.

Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal' : 'Astringent, emmenagogue, diuretic, alterative, expectorant. The root of this plant is much used in America in many disorders, and is supposed to be an antidote against poison and the bite of the rattlesnake. The fresh root, dug in October, is used to make a tincture.'

'In small doses, it is useful in children's diarrhoea.' 'In the paroxyms of consumption, it gives relief by allaying the cough, reducing the rapidity of the pulse and inducing perspiration. In whooping-cough, it proves very effective.'

'The infusion and decoction have been given with success in rheumatism.'

'In infantile disorders, it is given in the form of syrup. It is said to be a specific in St. Vitus' Dance of children. Overdoses produce nausea and vomiting.'

Black Cohosh Live herbs

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Black Cohosh Powder can be consumed by sprinkling it over your food or mixing it with a syrup such as maple or chocolate. You could also mix it with orange juice. The citric acid in the orange juice will help to mask any unpleasant powder tastes.

Other common names: Bugbane, Black Snakeroot, Bugwort, Cohosh, Rattle Root, Richweed, Rattleweed.

Black Cohosh is famous for its beneficial effects on women's health. The herb is said to provide relief from menstrual problems (including PMS) and is considered indispensable as a natural way to ease menopausal discomforts.

Black Cohosh is thought to be a wonderful, natural sedative that has been used to relax the entire body, relieve aches and pains and alleviate anxiety and depression.

History: Black Cohosh is a stately perennial that is native to North America. It grows from three to nine feet in height in open woods and on the edges of dense woods from Canada to Georgia in the east and as far west as Missouri.

Black Cohosh's botanical name, Cimicifuga, is derived from Latin, meaning ''bug repellent,'' and the strong odor emitted from Black Cohosh has, in fact, made it an effective insect repellent or ''bugbane'' (as it is sometimes called) over the centuries.

Its common name, Cohosh, comes to us from an Algonquian word meaning ''rough,'' a reference to the root's texture.

It is odd that a plant with prominent white flowers should be named ''black'' and is often a point of confusion; the ''black'' refers to the dark color of the roots, which are used in herbal medicine.

Black Cohosh is not related to Blue Cohosh.

Native Americans used Black Cohosh for menstrual cramps and the pains of childbirth, and they also made a topical poultice from it to remedy snakebites.

The early colonists used it for yellow fever, malaria, fevers, bronchitis, dropsy, uterine problems and nervous disorders.

By the nineteenth century, Black Cohosh was also considered helpful in the treatment of rheumatism, and many of the earliest patent medicines contained high concentrations of Black Cohosh.

It was the main ingredient in ''Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound,'' an over-the-counter remedy promoted in the early nineteenth century for relieving stress and nervous tension in women.

Black Cohosh has become the best-selling herb in the world for treating menstrual problems and ''female complaints,'' and it is a ''women's-health'' bestseller in Australia, Germany and the United States.

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