Black Cohosh(Cimicifuga Racemosa) is part of the buttercup family and grows native in parts of North America, most abundantly in the eastern woodlands. It produces black roots and knotty rhizomes.
Black Cohosh is valued for its
Hormone and mood balancing properties. Its dried root contains a number of phyto
Estrogens(o
Estrogen like plant
Hormones) of which formonentin is thought to be the most important.
It also has a direct action on the centers of the brain that help control dilation of
Blood vessels, which is very useful for alleviating
Menopause problems such as
Hot flushes and
Night sweats.
It is also useful in helping
Menstrual Cramps.
Black Cohosh is one of the most widely used and studied natural alternatives to HRT and standardised extracts have been shown to produce better results in relieving
Hot flushes,
Vaginal thinning and dryness,
Depression and
Anxiety compared to standard HRT.
It also has a normalizing effect on female sex
Hormones so it is also useful for improving low sex drive, which can sometimes occur at this time of life.
It is sometimes combined with St John's Wort and one trial found 78% of women found a reduction in
Hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms when these two herbs were used together. Improvements usually start to occur within two to four weeks.
Black Cohosh is also an excellent
Nervous system
Tonic for both women and men, and it brings desperately sought relief from the unexplained
Muscle Pain of
Fibromyalgia.
