Properties: Pungent, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Kidney, Heart

1. Clears Deficiency Heat and nourishes Kidney Yin
   Hot flashes and night sweats, restlessness, vaginal dryness, infertility osteoporosis, palpitations, high cholesterol, mood swings, mental fogginess, tinnitus, vertigo and due to menopause
2. Releases the Exterior, clears Heat and resolves Toxicity
   Sore throat, fever, cough
   Musculoskeletal pain from Wind Bi
3. Raises Yang and lifts sunken Qi
   Prolapsed uterus, haemorrhoids
   Menstrual cramping, delayed or sluggish labour

Suggested Daily Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.

Cautions: There have been reports of liver toxicity from taking this herb although reviews of the evidence have failed to support a direct link and most likely point to adulteration. However, caution should be exercised in untraceable sources as adulteration may be common.

Notes:

Traditionally it has also been used among native Americans for musculoskeletal pain, fever, cough, pneumonia, sluggish labour, and menstrual irregularities, while European settlers used it as a tonic to support women’s reproductive health (National Institute of Health, 2020).

There has been some considerable confusion with the nomenclature of this herb, with many Chinese imports of incorrect species being sold as Black Cohosh and being linked to reports of liver damage. This includes several species that share the same genus of Actaea or Cimicifuga or have the Chinese equivalent common name of Black Cohosh (Hei Sheng Ma, Vernonia scabra) (Foster, 2013). However, tracing the hepatotoxic constituents has proven difficult and it may not even be the species that causes the problem but the use of unprocessed fibrous roots which show a hepatotoxic potential (Yu et al., 2022).