dong quai

INTRODUCTION: Over-the-counter herbal and alternative medicines are classified as dietary supplements and, unlike drugs, are not rigorously regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Their potential adverse effects are often poorly characterized. METHOD: Red clover, dong quai, and Siberian ginseng are herbal compounds used for treatment of perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. These compounds are known to contain coumarins, and thus carry the potential for hemorrhagic complications; however, no cases of intracranial hemorrhage have been reported...

BACKGROUND: Interest in non-hormonal therapies for the treatment of menopausal symptoms has increased since the publication of adverse effects of estrogen replacement therapy. OBJECTIVE: To provide information on the efficacy of non-hormonal therapies for menopausal vasomotor symptoms based on evidence from published randomised controlled studies. METHODS: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), MEDLINE, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine database (ATHMD) and Allied and Complementary Medicine database (AMED) were searched for randomised controlled trials in the English language reporting data on treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of the herbal formula Phyto-Female Complex (SupHerb, Netanya, Israel; ingredients: standardized extracts of black cohosh, dong quai, milk thistle, red clover, American ginseng, chaste-tree berry) for the relief of menopausal symptoms. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 50 healthy pre and postmenopausal women, aged 44-65 years, to whom oral Phyto-Female Complex or matched placebo was prescribed twice daily for 3 months...

Numerous reports in the medical literature and popular media have discussed the effectiveness of various nonhormonal agents in reducing menopausal hot flash symptoms. Data for these therapies are limited, and most of the studies have been conducted in women with a history of breast cancer. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine have been shown to reduce hot flashes by 19 to 60 percent and were well tolerated by study participants. Soy isoflavones reduced hot flashes by 9 to 40 percent in some trials, but most trials showed no difference compared with placebo...

OBJECTIVE: To examine herbal use by a sample of low-income, nutritionally vulnerable children. DESIGN: Caregivers completed a survey of child and caregiver herbal usage practices. SUBJECTS/SETTING: A convenience sample of 2,562 caregivers to children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Kansas and Wisconsin who were attending a WIC clinic was selected. WIC project selection was random, with stratification for geographic and ethnic representation...

Despite recent advances in antibiotic therapy and intensive care, sepsis remains a widespread problem in critically ill patients. The high mortality from sepsis is in part mediated by bacterial endotoxin, which stimulates macrophages/monocytes to sequentially release early (e.g., tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-1, and interferon-gamma) and late [e.g., high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1)] proinflammatory cytokines. Our discovery of HMGB1 as a late mediator of lethal systemic inflammation has initiated a new field of investigation for the development of experimental therapeutics...

Since the release of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) findings, an increasing number of dietary supplement products specifically targeting women in menopause have appeared in the American marketplace. This growth highlights the need for a critical evaluation of the tolerability and effectiveness of these products. The purpose of this article is to assess the evidence for safety and benefit of botanical monopreparations used for relief of menopause-related symptoms. The Cochrane Library and Medline databases were searched from January 1966 to October 2004, using a detailed list of terms related to botanicals and menopausal symptoms...

OBJECTIVE: Regarding the growing use of alternative therapies for peri- or postmenopausal symptoms, we evaluated the effect of a water extract of Angelica sinensis (dong quai), used for peri- or postmenopausal relief, on the proliferation of estrogen receptor-positive (MCF-7) and negative (BT-20) breast cancer cells in vitro. DESIGN: The present study was designed to investigate the growth-modulating effect of dong quai water extract, alone or in the presence of 17beta-estradiol and 4-hydroxytamoxifen, on MCF-7 and BT-20 cell cultures using MTT proliferation assay...

We designed a randomized double-blind randomized trial to examine the short and long-term effects of alternative approaches commonly used to manage menopause symptoms. Women were randomly assigned to: (1) black cohosh 160 mg daily; (2) multibotanical (50 mg black cohosh, alfalfa, chaste tree, dong quai, false unicorn, licorice, oats, pomegranate, Siberian ginseng, boron) four capsules daily; (3) multibotanical plus telephone counseling to increase dietary soy; (4) conjugated equine estrogen 0.625 mg +/- 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate; or (5) placebo...

BACKGROUND: Hot flashes are the most frequent symptoms of menopause and the most common reason for climacteric women seeking medical advice. Estrogen therapy is by far the most effective therapy. However, fears of side-effect of estrogen therapy urged many patients to seek alternative modalities for symptomatic relief. METHODS: The MEDLINE database for the years 1975-2004 was searched for clinical placebo-controlled trials for the treatment of hot flashes with alternative therapy...

This study examined the vascular relaxation produced by Radix Angelica (AG; Dong Quai) and its possible mechanisms in isolated rat aortic rings precontracted with norepinephrine. The butanolic fraction (AgBt) of the crude extract of AG causes gradual endothelium-independent relaxation, which was unaffected by five different potassium channel inhibitors. AgBt attenuated the CaCl2-induced vasoconstriction in high-potassium depolarized medium; this required less than one-tenth the concentration needed to elicit vascular relaxation...

Herbal medicine is one of most popular choices of complementary therapies for women, particularly as an alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms. The most commonly used herbal medicines for the menopause is probably black cohosh (Actaea/Cimcifuga racemosa); other preparations used include red clover (Trifolium pratense), dong quai (Angelica sinesis) and evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). Some of these herbal medicines have a very good safety profile with little or no suggestion of interaction with conventional drugs...

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature regarding the efficacy and safety of nonestrogen treatments for menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms not due to cancer or chemotherapy. DATA SOURCES: Pertinent literature and clinical studies were identified by searching MEDLINE (1966-February 2004) and EMBASE (1959-February 2004) using the key search terms vasomotor symptoms, hot flashes, and menopause. Bibliographies of relevant articles were reviewed for additional references...

Phytoestrogens are plant constituents that possess either estrogenic or antiestrogenic activity. Although their activities are weak as compared with human endogenous estrogens, the consumption of phytoestrogens may have clinically significant consequences. A number of botanicals, or the compounds contained therein, have been identified as putative estrogenic agents, but consensus in the biomedical community has been hampered by conflicting data from various in vitro and in vivo models of estrogenic activity...

OBJECTIVE: To create an evidence-based position statement regarding the treatment of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. DESIGN: The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) enlisted clinicians and researchers acknowledged to be experts in the field of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms to review the evidence obtained from the medical literature and develop a document for final approval by the NAMS Board of Trustees. RESULTS: For mild hot flashes, lifestyle-related strategies such as keeping the core body temperature cool, participating in regular exercise, and using paced respiration have shown some efficacy without adverse effects...

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. Therapeutic options for metastatic prostate cancer are limited. The use of herbal therapies in the treatment of this malignancy remains controversial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We tested five herbal supplements, designated FB, FM, PP, HF and FBL101, which contain different combinations of various natural herbs such as licorice, black cohosh, Dong Quai, false unicorn and vitex berry root extracts, fennel seed extract, red clover blossoms extract as well as genistein and gamma oryzanol, for antitumor activity in severely combined immunodeficient mice bearing CWR22R and PC3 prostate cancer xenografts...

A combined approach of sub-window factor analysis and spectral correlative chromatography has been employed to analyze the constituents of essential oils of Dong quai. Essential oils are the main pharmacological active individuals of Dong quai. Some constituents in the main root of Dong quai have been identified by GC-MS with the help of sub-window factor analysis resolving two-dimensional original data into mass spectra and chromatograms. Correlative constituents in another part of the root fiber have been recognized by spectral correlative chromatography...

Adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer reduces recurrence rates and prolongs survival at the cost of both acute and chronic toxicities. Breast cancer survivors who have received adjuvant chemotherapy may suffer from late effects of chemotherapy including congestive heart failure, neuropathy, premature menopause, and osteoporosis. Nutritional approaches to these problems are distinct in their orientation and success. Study of free radical scavengers for anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy was born from known pathogenetic mechanisms of cardiotoxicity but has been universally disappointing thus far in clinical trials...

OBJECTIVE: Many women have turned to complementary and alternative medicines for relief from their menopausal symptoms. The prevalence of herbal medicinal product use among menopausal women highlights the need for investigation into these interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms by performing a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. DESIGN: Literature searches of four computerized databases were done to identify randomized clinical trials of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms...

One of the most important issues in women's health concerns the risks and benefits of estrogen replacement therapy. Continual uncertainty and lack of consensus regarding estrogen replacement therapy has driven many women to seek alternative sources of estrogen, including herbal remedies. We adapted a recombinant cell bioassay to measure estrogen bioactivity in herbs. We studied, in vitro, estrogen bioactivity in red clover, dong quai, black cohosh, soy, licorice, chaste tree berry, fo-ti, and hops. Soy, clover, licorice, and hops have a large amount of measurable estrogen bioactivity, as suspected, based on previous reports using other methods...