AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER
| Black Cohosh, ©2008 Todd Caldecott |
Botanical Name: Actaea racemosa, RANUNCULACEAE Botanical synonyms: Cimicifuga racemosa, Macrotys racemosa Common names: Black Cohosh, Black Snakeroot, Rattleroot, Rattleweed Similar species: Actaea rubra, Cimicifuga dahurica Plant description: Black Cohosh is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial that attains a height of between 0.5 and 3 meters. It has large, alternate, three-pointed, tripartate leaves that are arranged in a way that gives the plant "an open and yet neat appearance" (Cook 1869). The flowers appear in June and July, and have an unpleasant fetid smell. They are contained in feathery drooping racemes, sepals 4 to 5 in number, rounded, and white. The petals number from 4 to 6, small, and are clawed. The stamens are numerous with white showy filaments, the stigma sessile and pistil oval-shaped. The flowers give way to blue berries, followed by dry, dehiscent, ovate, follicular capsules, with numerous seeds, small, and compressed. The creeping rhizome and roots are dark-brown to black, and fleshy. Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra) is smaller than Black Cohosh, 0.4-1 meter tall, with many leaves, divided 2-3 times into 3s, each leaflet 3-lobed. The berries of Red Baneberry are usually red, but some specimens produce glossy white berries (Actaea alba). Habitat, ecology and distribution: Black Cohosh can be found in moist forests, natural areas and on the rural edges of civilization throughout the eastern regions of North America. It ranges from as far north as Ontario and Quebec, southward into Florida. Actaea rubra is similarly found in moist areas, near stream banks and clearings, from the far north in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories southwards into New Mexico. Part used: rhizome and root; the berries are reported to be poisonous in many of the Actaea spp. History: The various names of Black Cohosh give indication of its traditional usage. As Snakeroot it was thought to cure rattlesnake bites, whereas it was called Rattleweed because of the seedpods that rattle in the wind, and sometimes Squawroot, a name perhaps acquired because of a confusion with Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides). In the older Eclectic and physiomedical texts Black Cohosh was called Macrocotys. Its more recent genus Cimicifuga is derived its similar appearance to other species of Actaea (e.g. 'Bugbane') found in Europe and used as a natural pesticide (cimex [bedbug]), and fugare (to drive away). The popular usage of Black Cohosh is ascribed to John King, original author of the King's American Dispensatory, who 1835 manufactured a resin from Black Cohosh under the names cimicifugin, macrotyn, and macrotin (Felter and Lloyd 1893). Constituents: Black Cohosh is a good example of a plant whose medicinal action cannot be directly explained by a single group of constituents. Triterpene glycosides including actein and cimicifugoside seem likely candidates to be at least partially responsible for Black Cohosh's activity, but other noted constituents include formononetin, isoferulic acid, caffeic acid, quinolizidine alkaloids, phytosterols and the resins cimicifugin and acetina (Mills and Bone 2000, 304; Newall et al 1996, 80). Medical Research: Toxicity: Intragastric administration in rats indicates that the minimum lethal dose of actein is greater than 1g/kg. Mills and Bone report that in a prenatal study of 3200 pregnancies between 1953 and 1957, three women took Black Cohosh during pregnancy, and in one case there is reported "malformation" that isnšt defined (2000, 307). Herbal action: antirheumatic, antispasmodic, emmenagogue Indications: myalgia, neuralgia, muscle spasm, epilepsy, joint pain, uterine pain, premenstrual syndrome, menopause Contraindications and cautions: Black Cohosh may interfere with prenatal development and should not be taken during the first and second trimester. Black Cohosh is contraindicated in skin eruption and other symptoms of excess heat. Large doses may produce a frontal headache, nausea and vomiting, vertigo, with visual and nervous disturbances. Felter and Lloyd state that Green tea may counteract its narcotic influences (1893). Medicinal uses: Both the physiomedicalist and eclectic physicians thought highly of Black Cohosh, considering it a potent remedy, useful for a broad array of complaints. Cook thought of Black Cohosh as a slow, gradual but powerfully diffusive agent, with a marked relaxant effect upon the tissues (1869). Lloyd and Felter state that it improves the appetite and enhances secretions in the gastro-intestinal, respiratory and urinary tracts. Upon the cardiovascular system Black Cohosh slows the heartbeat and strengthens the contractile force of the myocardium, alleviating arterial tension. Black Cohosh was highly valued in acute forms of rheumatism used as a tincture in small doses every few hours, gradually increasing the dose up to 60 drops until a feeling of relief is felt (Felter and Lloyd 1893). Large doses, almost to the point of producing the side-effects noted in Cautions and contraindications, were considered necessary by the eclectics, for acute conditions without risk of permanent effects (Felter and Lloyd 1893). Cook states that Black Cohosh alleviates irritation in serous tissues, decreasing inflammation in joint diseases (1869). Black Cohosh is also indicated in muscular pain, but not pain of spinal origin. Stomach and intestinal pain, urinary tenesmus, pleurodynia, and pain in the chest, lower back, neck, eye-sockets and ears are reputed to be relieved by Black Cohosh. It is similarly used in disorders of the female reproductive tract, coordinating the contractions of the uterus and relieving atonic states of the uterine musculature. The use of Black Cohosh in dysmenorrhea was highly lauded by the eclectics, as was its utility in amenorrhea, anemia, coldness of the hands and feet and breast pain. It has a long reputation as a parturient, but should only be used in formulation for this purpose, with Caulophyllum and Mitchella. Black Cohosh has become a popular herbal treatment for menopause, although once again is best combined with other herbs to moderate its occasionally potent effect and to broaden the beneficial effect, such as Leonorus and Salvia. In men Black Cohosh is reported to be effective in orchialgia and prostatic congestion, and is useful as a tonic in spermatorrhea. In nervous disorders Black Cohosh is a potent relaxant, useful in epilepsy, convulsion, neurogenic asthma, pertussis, delirium tremens, and neuralgia In latent fevers and eruptions, as in measles or varicella, Black Cohosh is a diffusive remedy that acts as a diaphoretic to promote a crisis state, resolving the condition quickly, while relieving muscle and joint pain. Scudder states that the specific indications for Black Cohosh include an "open pulse, the pain paroxysmal, the skin not dry and constricted" (Felter and Lloyd 1893). Ultimately the activity of Black Cohosh is complex, which makes it a useful remedy in so many conditions. It combines an ability to produce to relax the tissues and allow for capillary dilation, improving peripheral circulation, but at the same time has an astringent, tonic effect upon relaxed tissues. Pharmacy and dosage:
REFERENCESCook, WM. H. 1869. The Physiomedical Dispensatory. Cincinnati: self-published. Digitized version available from http://medherb.com/cook/home.htm. |