To apply for a free subscritption to Woman's Quarterly, and other publications, see our quick and easy order form. The symptoms that were shown to be affected were hot flashes, depression, and vaginal atrophy. Black cohosh, by the way, was one of the ingredients in the famous medicine, Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, a medicine popular at the turn of the century. The German government's E Commission, mentioned at the beginning of this article, has approved the use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms for four to six months. The herb has been used in Germany for more than 40 years with no evidence of serious side effects.
Some women report a mild, transient stomach upset.
Chaste tree berry Chasteberry is believed to affect the body in much the same way that dopamine, a powerful neurotransmitter, does. Use of chasteberry has been known to produce an itchy rash. This was a double blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial during which postmenopausal women received treatment for 24 weeks. The researchers concluded that used alone dong quai does not produce estrogen-like responses in the uterus or in the vagina and was no more helpful than placebo in relieving menopausal symptoms. But, Murray also notes that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of dong quai.