Hormone Therapy Alternative

• Black cohosh has been approved by Germany's governmental regulatory agency for herbs, Commission E, as an alternative to hormone therapy during menopause.
  
  

Anxiety and Insomnia

• One rigorous German study, cited by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), compared groups of menopausal women taking either Remifemin, estrogen or a placebo (see link in References). Symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia and melancholy were significantly lower in the treated groups, and participants using Remifemin reported feeling better than those receiving estrogen treatment.
  
  

Hot Flashes

• In this German study, daily hot flashes decreased from about 5 to less than 1 in the black cohosh group. Both the estrogen and placebo groups experienced decreases in hot flashes from about 5 per day to about 3 per day.
  
  

Additional Research

• Another German study cited by the NIH looked at women who had undergone a hysterectomy but retained at least one ovary. Those using the Remifemin black cohosh extract experienced decreased symptoms similar to the women receiving estrogen therapy.
  
  

Organization Support

• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the North American Menopause Society, view black cohosh as being potentially helpful for hot flashes, sleep disorders and mood changes during menopause. The organizations recommend using it on a short-term basis, 6 months at most.