A combination of four different herbal extracts may significantly reduce hot flashes and sweating, improve sleep, and boost mood in post-menopausal women, says a new study.
The American Botanical Council has honored Gail Mahady, PhD, a University of Illinois-Chicago professor, for excellence in botanical research and education related to women’s health.
With the aging population in the coming decades, it is estimated that 1.2 billion women worldwide will be menopausal or postmenopausal by the year 2030.
The Netherlands’ Office for Risk Assessment & Research (BuRO) is advising certain populations not to consume black cohosh food supplements citing a link to severe liver toxicity.
A new government program being facilitated by the American Herbal Products Association will assess the reliability of current DNA techniques for botanical identification.
The American Botanical Council has released a Laboratory Guidance Document on black cohosh in an attempt to help industry stakeholders better identify this frequently adulterated botanical.
Black cohosh is something of a poster child for the economic adulteration that plagues certain herbal ingredients in the dietary supplement industry. A new article published by the American Botanical Council lays out the history of the situation, and...
A new method based on specific markers in DNA can ‘consistently’ distinguish black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) from closely related species that may be accidental or deliberate adulterants in herbal dietary supplements.
Last week’s warning from the UK medicines regulator that menopausal herb black cohosh must carry warnings about potential liver problems is not a problem of the mainstream food supplements sector, says the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH).
Black cohosh is among a number of herbal ingredients that appear on a new liver toxicity database from the National Institutes of Health. But the question has been raised whether it is the ingredient itself, or adulterants passed off as black cohosh,...
A new series of white papers will help the dietary supplements trade wise up to the tricks used by unscrupulous suppliers to adulterate herbals and botanicals, American Botanical Council (ABC) founder Mark Blumenthal tells Elaine Watson.
A new test method may enhance the identification of adulterants in black cohosh products, and allay concerns over potential liver toxicity from the presence of other related herbal species in black cohosh formulations.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has pointed out that a recent report from Health Canada highlighting purported black cohosh adverse events, is actually a good thing for the industry.
Health Canada is “monitoring the situation” after four of six black cohosh supplement products were found to contain related herbs, but not black cohosh itself.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is calling for input into its sixth botanical tonnage survey, which tracks annual harvests of North American herbs used as ingredients in dietary supplements.
Hot flushes associated with the menopause are not helped by black
cohosh supplements, say results from the largest and longest trial
for the herb to date.
Scientists from the University of Illinois in Chicago have reported
for the first time just how black cohosh may alleviate hot flushes
in menopausal women - information previously lacking about the
herb.
Liver safety concerns surrounding black cohosh may be mitigated,
with a US District Court's dismissal of a product liability lawsuit
against two manufacturers of the herbal, and the testimony of the
plaintiff's experts.
Canada has issued an advisory about a possible link between black
cohosh and liver damage - bringing the herb, used in relieving
menopausal symptoms, further negative attention following similar
moves in the UK and Australia.
The UK herbal sector has reached an agreement with the medicines
regulator over labelling of black cohosh products with liver injury
warnings, and has asked it to review the safety data again next
year.
This week's warnings on the black cohosh and potential liver damage
may be the first time many general practitioners have heard of the
herbal, says complementary health expert, underscoring the need for
doctors to be aware of...
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
is introducing warnings labels for black cohosh products on
potential liver damage, following reports from two committees that
have reviewed the safety data...
A new study reports that one-third of black cohosh products tested
were not genuine but contained substituted products, results that
should drive manufacturers to comply with American Herbal Products
Association's (AHPA) recommendations.
Australia's Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) has taken a
tough stance over the safety record of black cohosh, requiring that
OTC and alternative medicines containing the herbal must carry a
warning for the potential harm...
Taking supplements of the herbal black cohosh is unlikely to offer
much relief from menopausal hot flushes, conclude the US
researchers on a new trial.
Cornell University is stimulating discussion over women's use of
soy and herbals such as black cohosh, red clover and soy, drawing
attention to a fact sheet published by its Program of Breast Cancer
and Environmental Risk Factors...
Enzymatic Therapy appears to be unperturbed by recent rumblings
from the scientific community about the efficacy black cohosh to
alleviate menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. The
Wisconsin-based company has announced that it is...
A study presented this week showing that black cohosh supplements
offer no benefit for hot flushes was probably too short to measure
any effect, says the herbal science group the American Botanical
Council.
Black cohosh, a plant commonly used by breast cancer patients to
alleviate the menopause-like side effects of therapy, may alter the
effects anticancer drugs, suggests a study carried out at Yale
School of Medicine.
An 85-year-old specimen of black cohosh root still contained most
of the chemical compounds believed to help reduce hot flushes and
other menopause symptoms when analysed in a recent study, writes
Dominique Patton.
The herbal supplement black cohosh used to relieve menopausal
symptoms may increase the risks of breast cancer metastasis and
liver failure, warns the active campaigning consumer group the
Center for Science in the Public Interest...
The herb black cohosh may reduce hot flashes by acting on body
temperature regulation, rather than through its estrogen-like
effects, report researchers, who suggest the finding increases the
likelihood that the herb is a safe HRT...
A review of black cohosh, said to be the most comprehensive to
date, finds it to be safe, just days after another study suggested
that the herb, taken as an alternative to hormone replacement
therapy (HRT), could trigger the spread...
A new study on mice suggests that the herb black cohosh, used by
women as an alternative to HRT to treat menopause symptoms, may
speed up the spread of tumors in women with breast cancer.
Interest in herbal alternatives to HRT is on the increase following
negative press coverage this summer but medical experts warn that
many alternatives do not always have much success. A report in this
month's Annals of Internal...
A study published in the current issue of Breast Cancer Research
and Treatment suggests that the black cohosh supplement
RemiFemin Menopause can safely relieve menopausal symptoms in women
with a history of breast cancer who cannot...
Coming after recent research highlighted the risks of HRT, the
American Botanical Council is to produce a scientific review of
black cohosh, a herb used by many women to treat menopause
symptoms.
Sure Balance, another new supplement to treat the menopause, is
launched in the US. The product contains black cohosh, soy and a
variety of herbs, and is being promoted as an alternative to HRT.
A supplement made from the herb black cohosh has been found to be
an effective alternative treatment to oestrogen for women suffering
from the menopause.
