Guest guest Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 CHASTE BERRY -The PMS relief herb JoAnn Guest Mar 19, 2005 17:08 PST CHASTE BERRY -chasteberry (vitex agnus) PMS - menopause alternative therapy chaste berry menopause natural treatment http://www.raysahelian.com/chasteberry.html Chaste berry (also written as chasteberry) contains several different constituents, including flavonoids, iridoid glycosides, and terpenoids. Chaste berry does not contain hormones. The benefits of chaste berry stem from its actions upon the pituitary gland. Chaste berry keeps prolactin secretion in check. The ability to decrease mildly elevated prolactin levels may benefit some women with breast tenderness associated with PMS. Chaste berry may also be helpful in menopause and " cyclic mastalgia " . New research indicates that certain compounds in chasteberry may have activity similar to the brain chemical " dopamine " . Chaste berry: The PMS relief herb PMS (premenstrual syndrome) is the name of a group of symptoms that start 7 to 14 days before a period and stop soon after the period begins. Most women feel some discomfort before their periods but those with PMS may feel so anxious, depressed or uncomfortable that they can't cope at home or at work. Some of the symptoms include a bloated abdomen, feeling tired and tense, headache, tender and swollen breasts, and wanting to be alone. PMS seems to be linked in part to changes in hormone levels during the menstrual cycle, and perhaps partly due to elevated levels of a pituitary hormone called " prolactin " . Several studies over the past few years have indicated that extracts from chasteberry (the fruit of a small Eurasian tree, also called Vitex agnus) help with symptoms of PMS. In a recent study done in Germany, 86 patients with PMS were treated daily with one tablet (20 mg chaste berry extract) during three menstrual cycles. At the end of the study, many PMS-related symptoms were significantly reduced by treatment with chaste berry in the majority of the participants. No serious adverse effects were reported. The researchers say, " Extract of chaste berry is an effective and well tolerated treatment for the relief of symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome. " How chaste berry works is not clear, but one possibility is that it may reduce the " release " of prolactin from the pituitary gland. At least two previous studies have also shown the beneficial effects of chaste berry in relation to PMS. Other natural therapies that could be helpful include exercise, yoga, B vitamins and reduction of simple sugars, alcohol and caffeine. Hormone replacement therapy and menopause Recent studies indicate that long term replacement with Premarin (horse derived estrogens) and synthetic progesterone increases the risk for heart disease, cancer, blood clots and gallbladder disease. The field of hormone or herbal therapy during or after menopause is very complicated and there is no consensus within the medical community regarding the best option for long term therapy. The medical community seems to be shifting its viewpoint on hormone replacement. It appears that most traditional doctors now prefer using low doses of hormones for a brief period of time to treat menopausal symptoms, but prefer not to continue hormone replacement therapy indefinitely as in the past. Chaste berry and other herbs offer some hope as alternatives. Enzymatic Therapy - Chaste Berry Extract, 60 Capsules Recommendations: One capsule chaste berry extract two times daily. www.enzy.com Amount per capsule Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus) 225 mg* Berry Extract Standardized to contain a minimum of 0.5% agnuside (1,130 mcg per capsule) * Daily Value not established Chaste Berry Research update Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)--pharmacology and clinical indications. Phytomedicine. 2003 May;10(4):348-57. Extracts of the fruits of chaste tree (Vitex agnus castus = chaste berry) are widely used to treat premenstrual symptoms. Double-blind placebo-controlled studies indicate that one of the most common premenstrual symptoms, i.e. premenstrual mastodynia (mastalgia) is beneficially influenced by an chaste berry extract. In addition, numerous less rigidly controlled studies indicate that chaste berry extracts have also beneficial effects on other psychic and somatic symptoms of the PMS. Premenstrual mastodynia is most likely due to a latent hyperprolactinemia, i.e. patients release more than physiologic amounts of prolactin in response to stressful situations and during deep sleep phases which appear to stimulate the mammary gland. Premenstrually this unphysiological prolactin release is so high that the serum prolactin levels often approach heights which are misinterpreted as prolactinomas. Since chasteberry extracts were shown to have beneficial effects on premenstrual mastodynia serum prolactin levels in such patients were also studied in one double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Serum prolactin levels were indeed reduced in the patients treated with the chaste berry extract. The search for the prolactin-suppressive principle(s) in chasteberry yielded a number of compounds with dopaminergic properties: they bound to recombinant DA2-receptor protein and suppressed prolactin release from cultivated lactotrophs as well as in animal experiments. The search for the chemical identity of the chaste berry dopaminergic compounds resulted in isolation of a number of diterpenes of which some clerodadienols were most important for the prolactin-suppressive effects. They were almost identical in their prolactin-suppressive properties than dopamine itself. Hence, it is concluded that dopaminergic compounds present in chaste berry are clinically the important compounds which improve premenstrual mastodynia and possibly also other symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome. Fluoxetine versus Vitex agnus castus extract (chaste berry ) in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2003 Apr;18(3):191-5. Clinical trials have demonstrated that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and the extract of chaste berry are effective for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study comparing the efficacy of the SRIs with chaste berry extract. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), with that of the chaste berry extract, a natural choice. After a period of 2 screening months to screen the patients for suitability, 41 patients with PMDD according to DSM-IV were recruited into the study. The patients were randomized to fluoxetine or chaste berry for 2 months of single-blind, rater- blinded and prospective treatment period. The outcome measures included the Penn daily symptom report (DSR), the Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D), and the clinical global impression-severity of illness (CGI-SI) and -improvement (CGI-I) scales. At endpoint, using the clinical criterion for improvement, a similar percentage of patients responded to fluoxetine (68.4%, n = 13) and chaste berry (57.9%, n = 11). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with respect to the rate of responders. This preliminary study suggests that patients with PMDD respond well to treatment with chaste berry. Evidence for estrogen receptor beta-selective activity of Vitex agnus-castus (chaste berry) and isolated flavones. Planta Med. 2003 Oct;69(10):945-7. Recent cell culture experiments indicated that extracts of Vitex agnus-castus (chaste berry) may contain yet unidentified phytoestrogens. Estrogenic actions are mediated via estrogen receptors (ER). To investigate whether chasteberry compounds bind to the currently known isoforms ERalpha or ERss, ligand binding assays (LBA) were performed. Subtype specific ER-LBA revealed a binding of chasteberry to ERss only. To isolate the ERss-selective compounds, the extract was fractionated by bio-guidance. The flavonoid apigenin was isolated and identified as the most active ERss-selective phytoestrogen in chasteberry . Other isolated compounds were vitexin and penduletin. These data demonstrate that the phytoestrogens in chasteberry are ERss-selective. Evaluation of estrogenic activity of plant extracts for the potential treatment of menopausal symptoms. J Agric Food Chem 2001 May;49(5):2472-9 Eight botanical preparations that are commonly used for the treatment of menopausal symptoms were tested for estrogenic activity. Methanol extracts of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), chaste berry (Vitex agnus-castus L.), and hops (Humulus lupulus L.) showed significant competitive binding to estrogen receptors alpha (ER alpha) and beta (ER beta). With cultured Ishikawa (endometrial) cells, red clover and hops exhibited estrogenic activity as indicated by induction of alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and up-regulation of progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA. Chasteberry also stimulated PR expression, but no induction of AP activity was observed. In S30 breast cancer cells, pS2 (presenelin-2), another estrogen-inducible gene, was up-regulated in the presence of red clover, hops, and chasteberry. Interestingly, extracts of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) and North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) induced pS2 mRNA expression in S30 cells, but no significant ER binding affinity, AP induction, or PR expression was noted in Ishikawa cells. Dong quai [Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels] and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) showed only weak ER binding and PR and pS2 mRNA induction. Black cohosh [Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.] showed no activity in any of the above in vitro assays. These data suggest a potential use for some dietary supplements, ingested by human beings, in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Treatment of cyclical mastalgia with a solution containing a Vitex agnus castus (chaste berry) extract: results of a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Breast. 1999 Aug;8(4):175-81. In a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study the efficacy of a chaste berry extract-containing solution was investigated in patients suffering from cyclical mastalgia. Patients had mastalgia on at least 5 days in the pre-treatment cycle. During this cycle and during treatment (3 cycles; 2 x 30 drops/day), the intensity of mastalgia was recorded once per cycle using a visual analogue scale (VAS). After one/two treatment cycles, the mean decrease in pain intensity (mm, VAS) was 21.4 mm /33.7 mm in women taking chaste berry (n=4 and 10.6 mm/20.3 mm with placebo (n=49). The differences of the VAS-values for chaste berry were significantly greater than those with placebo (p=0.018; p=0.006). After three cycles, the mean VAS-score reduction for women taking chaste berry was 34.3 mm, a reduction of 'borderline significance' (p=0.064) on statistical testing compared with placebo (25.7 mm). There was no difference in the frequency of adverse events between both groups (chaste berry: n=5; placebo : n=4). chaste berry appears effective and was well tolerated and further evaluation of this agent in the treatment of cyclical mastalgia is warranted. _________________ --- Post subject: Chaste Tree Berry (vitex agnus castus) -- Chaste Tree Berry (vitex agnus castus) Chaste Tree Berry (vitex agnus castus) are the berries of the chaste tree, a large shrub indigenous to southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and Asia. Chaste Tree Berry has been used since ancient Greek times as a treatment for menstrual problems. It is the fruit (dried ripe berries) that contains a mixture of iridoid glycosides (agnoside and aucubin), fatty oils, and flavonoids. Chaste Tree Berry has medicinally active components that act upon the pituitary gland, specifically on the production of luteinizing hormone to influence progesterone levels during the luteal, or late, phase of the menstrual cycle. A 1997 double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that Chaste Tree Berry offered significant relief for women suffering from symptoms of PMS, especially breast tenderness, cramping, and headaches (Lauritzen et al. 1997). In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial reported in the January 20, 2001 British Medical Journal, German researchers assigned 170 women diagnosed with PMS to a daily dose of Vitex agnus castus (chaste tree berry) extract or to placebo for three menstrual cycles. The women assessed themselves before and after treatment on measures of irritability, mood, anger, headache, bloating, and breast fullness. Clinicians evaluated symptom severity and treatment effects. More than half of the women taking chaste tree fruit extract (chaste tree berry) had a 50% or greater improvement in PMS symptoms (with the exception of bloating). The researchers concluded that the dry Vitex Agnus Castus extract of agnus castus fruit is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for the relief of symptoms of PMS. It is important to note that the German government's Commission E, which evaluates herbal remedies prescribed in conventional medical practice in Germany, has approved chasteberry for menstrual irregularities, breast pain, and premenstrual complaints (Schellenberg R., 2001). _________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjo- DietaryTi- www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes AIM Barleygreen " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future " http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html Make your home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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