Nutritional Support for Female Health

Standardized Black Cohosh, provided by Douglas Laboratories®, provides 40 mg of standardized extract of the root and rhizome of the black cohosh plant. Each vegetarian capsule is standardized to 8% triterpene glycosides.

FUNCTIONS
Black Cohosh, an herb with a long history of use in Native American cultures for gynecological disorders, is currently used throughout Europe for its phytoestrogenic and hormone moderating properties. Estrogen levels decline during menopause. This initiates numerous physiological changes commonly associated with menopause, including hot flashes, insomnia, and depression. Traditional therapies, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), offer relief from symptoms of menopause; yet, as HRT is associated with its own side effects and certain increased health risks, many women are investigating alternative means of achieving hormonal balance during menopause.

Black Cohosh extract is quickly gaining popularity as a natural way to moderate and balance hormone levels. The active constituents of Black Cohosh appear to regulate estrogen levels, thereby normalizing hormonal balance and moderating the symptoms that accompany fluctuating hormone levels.

Black cohosh extract works largely through the synergistic activity of two types of compounds: phytoestrogens and triterpenes. Phytoestrogens, a class of flavonoids with mild estrogenic activity in the body, appear to have normalizing effects on hormonal levels. In particular, black cohosh extract contains formononetin, an isoflavone phytoestrogen. Triterpene glycosides found in black cohosh extract act synergystically with formononetin to suppress excessive secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH). Sudden increases in LH secretion, which occur in response to declining estrogen levels, appear largely responsible for many symptoms associated with menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, irritability, heart palpitations, and headaches. Additionally, the concerted activity of formononetin and triterpenes appears to aid in the regulation of estrogen balance.
As with other estrogenic compounds, the active constituents in Black Cohosh extract may have beneficial effects in the cardiovascular and skeletal systems of postmenopausal women. As such, Black Cohosh offers a safe and natural method of balancing fluctuating hormone levels and easing the resulting symptoms that can occur during menopause.

INDICATIONS
Black Cohosh extract capsules may be a beneficial component of the nutritional support program of women who wish to moderate fluctuating hormone levels during menopause.