Researchers Find Black Cohosh Effective, Safe for Menopausal Symptoms

PITTSBURGH--Women may be able ease menopausal symptoms by taking black cohosh, which also appears to have none of the estrogenic side effects found in conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In a study appearing in The Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine (11, 2:163-74, 2002) (www.liebertpub.com/jwh), women taking either a standard dose or a high dose of black cohosh (Cimicifugae racemosae rhizoma) reported a decrease in physical and emotional symptoms associated with menopause.

Researchers led by Eckehard Liske, Ph.D., conducted a controlled, randomized, double blind trial with approximately 150 peri- and post-menopausal women ages 42 to 60 with moderate to severe menopause symptoms. During the six-month study, women took either 39 mg (the "standard" dose) or 127.3 mg of black cohosh (in the form of Remifemin(R), marketed in the United States by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare).

For the most part, the researchers found that menopausal symptoms were not dose-dependent. After the first 12 weeks of treatment, 78.4 percent of the standard-dose group and 78.6 percent of the high-dose group reported the product's efficacy was "very good" or "good." In addition, a majority of the study's participants saw a 70-percent (in the standard-dose group) and 72-percent (in the high-dose group) reduction in physical and emotional menopausal symptoms when taking black cohosh for six months. The study's authors reported both peri- and post-menopausal women tolerated the treatment well, and no causal relationship was found between reported adverse events and the black cohosh product.

The researchers also found, based on tests of the women's vaginal cells, that supplement users experienced no estrogenic effects from black cohosh. "The product reduces menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats and occasional sleeplessness without affecting hormone levels or specific cell lines associated with some female cancers," Liske stated.

The study's authors concluded that this study is consistent with other findings relating to the safety and efficacy of 40 mg/d of black cohosh. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the herb's mechanism of action and effects on bone and heart health. This study was sponsored by Schaper & Brummer GmbH of Salzgitter, Germany, the company that makes Remifemin.