Black Cohosh Supplements With No Black Cohosh

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43217&nfid=nl

" Millions of women buy the herb black cohosh and use this dietary supplement to treat hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Clinical trials are still relatively few in number. Some report that black cohosh helps relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, while others do not. A new study, scheduled for May 17 publication in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, reports for the first time that a significant number of black cohosh supplements sold in the United States did not contain black cohosh. Instead, these products contained a related Asian species of the plant that does not have the same chemical compounds or clinical uses as the native North American plant.

Using a new and simplified technique, the researchers analyzed 11 products marketed as black cohosh. Three contained the Asian adulterant, and one contained both genuine black cohosh and the Asian imitator. Products containing only black cohosh varied significantly in the amounts of the compounds believed to relieve menopausal symptoms.

..."

[LeftyMom]

1. It's also used for labor induction

though it's not a very good idea (convenience inductions are always a bad idea) and far safer to wait for labor to happen on it's own.

[nutsnberries]

2. if labor has started and stalled...

it can kick it back in to gear.

sometimes (policy of some birth centers)... you're on the clock (and not for convenience), like if you test positive for StrepB, you take an antibiotic at beginning of labor and the antibiotic's effectiveness only lasts a number of hours... cohosh can help.

[LeftyMom]

3. yeah,

I'm wary of a lot of these inductions and augementations that are more for policy or convenience than the health of the child and mother though, having fought off a whole lot of them in the course of my 44 week pregnancy and 24 hour labor with LeftyKid.

[nutsnberries]

5. wary as you should be...

but in most convenience situations don't they go straight for the pitocin?

I've had 4 births, each with midwifes in a birth center.... black cohosh is kept in the midwives' bag o'tricks. ;)
my first labor... ohmygoddddddd..............................................hours turned into days.........
and the positions they had me in (well, i was determined!) to try to turn the baby's head which was cocked to brow presentation... :cry:
all i can say is, all's well that ends well. :)

[niyad]

4. who funded the "study"? is this a ploy to get women to take hrt instead?

one is inclined to be suspicious of studies that show that herbal supplements don't work, since they often seem to be funded by drug companies.

it amuses, and saddens, me, to see all these commercials about all the symptons of this dread disease menopause, and the miracle drugs that just happen to have been developed for them.

[jbnow]

6. I don't know

about this study but what it says does not surprise me.

Because I used supplements I subscribed to http://www.consumerlab.com/ an independent lab that tests many products. In almost very category of herbs, minerals or vitamins there are several that don't have the ingredients as stated on the label, having more or less or none. Some are contaminated.

They don't test everything but I did get a better idea of what companies are pretty trustworthy. It's really important to know what you are getting.

[HuckleB]

7. Ploy?

This isn't a study about something working or not working. It's a study about claiming that something is in a product when it's not. If it does work, it isn't going to help if it's not there. Please read what's posted before offering such a reactionary response.

[BuddhaGirl]

8. good point

there have been several stories out recently about herbs and supplements and their supposed non-effectiveness. Makes you wonder!

I detest that menopause has been turned into a "disease"...it is a natural stage of a woman's life for god's sake!

[HuckleB]

9. Did you read the article?

If so, what is this piece and this study about?