September 11, 2003 – American researchers have just unveiled one of the possible mechanisms of action of black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), a plant used to relieve the symptoms of menopause.
During a test in vitro performed on a black cohosh extract, scientists at the University of Illinois found that the plant has the ability to bind to serotonin receptors.1 However, some of these receptors play a role in regulating body temperature and previous studies suggest that they may be involved in reducing hot flashes, characteristic of menopause. However, researchers have yet to identify which black cohosh compounds bind to serotonin receptors. It could also be that the plant, because it contains several potentially active substances, has other ways of inhibiting the mechanism of hot flashes. Further work is underway to elucidate these aspects.
No estrogenic effect?
In addition, a test carried out by the same group of researchers concluded that black cohosh does not have an estrogenic effect, a controversial point. Indeed, some experts believed that the beneficial effect of the plant on the symptoms of menopause was hormonal, which called into question its safety (see our news of July 31, 2003). However, different concentrations of an extract of the plant, administered every day for two weeks to female rats without their ovaries, had no effect on their uterus and on their vaginal cells.1
Another ongoing study
Since the results of the Women’s Health Initiative Study revealed that hormone therapy poses risks for women, black cohosh has grown in popularity. A study comparing the effects of black cohosh, red clover, hormone therapy and a placebo on symptoms of menopause is also underway at the University of Illinois. Funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, this one-year trial may provide an update on this controversial plant. Indeed, although its effectiveness and safety are the subject of a growing international consensus, black cohosh still arouses the suspicion of the North American medical community, which considers that it has not yet done so. its scientific evidence.
Françoise Ruby – PasseportSanté.net
According to Intellihealth, September 9, 2003.
1. Burdette JE, Liu J, Chen SN, Manufacturer DS, Piersen CE, Barker EL, Pezzuto JM, Mesecar A, Van Breemen RB, Farnsworth NR, Bolton JL. Black Cohosh Acts as a Mixed Competitive Ligand and Partial Agonist of the Serotonin Receptor. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Sep 10; 51 (19): 5661-5670.