Black Cohosh Adulteration
Actaea racemosa
The root of Black Cohosh has grown increasingly well known
for its medicinal benefits over the past 200 years. In more recent years, the Department of
Biological Sciences and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and numerous
worldwide universities have continued to publish a large amount of literature
on this subject. So what is it that intrigues them about this botanical? -The
answer, though not so simple, is quite fascinating and offers positive medical
future outlooks.
Black Cohosh Root comes in the forms of whole, chopped,
semi-whole, dry powder, and liquid extract. Using these forms they are then
formulated into pharmaceutical supplements that benefit the treatment of
menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, heart palpations, nervousness,
irritability, sleep disturbances, tinnitus, vertigo, excessive perspiration,
depression, premenstrual discomfort, and painful menstruation.
So, Black Cohosh is unquestionably good for women’s health.
What else can we expect from this wonder plant? Historically, Black Cohosh has
been used for nervous system health and as an antispasmodic, but while the uses
span over various medicinal uses, due to a process called adulteration, these
benefits may be subsided. Adulteration is the process of mixing additional inferior
ingredients into a pure mixture. A great example of this is adding water to dilute
wine and lower the price.
Understanding adulteration and the setbacks of this process of
adulteration raises concerns for the supplements being made by such a pure and
beneficial herb. Not only does variation occur within purity of the extract, it
also occurs in the source itself. The reliability of a foreign source of Black
Cohosh is of concern since multiple plant types can be translated from Mandarin
into English as Black Cohosh. When much of the material arrives in bulk
quantities in forms such as chopped or powdered, identifying the true make-up
to be pure Black Cohosh may need lab testing.
What we can understand from this is the true makeup of a
supplement containing what is labeled as Black Cohosh, just may be its closely
named counterpart. For a buyer, seeing a product that can be labeled Black
Cohosh yet is a third of the price, may be tempting, which in-turn provides
little incentive to suppliers to seek out reliable supply sources, which offer
a high base price parallel to a non-adulterated substance.
The good news is that there is scientific botanical
identification tools used that can identify a product’s level of purity. This offers
the opportunity for companies to provide authentic materials to use in supplements,
which in turn avoid misrepresentation to a product in a supplement that will
not provide the intended benefits, and also avoid potential harm. When buying
supplements, base decisions on not only the benefits of the product, but also
the reliability of the company supplying it and Caveat emptor!
Foster, S. (2013). Exploring the Pheripatetic Maze of Black
Cohosh Adulteration, A Review of the Nomenclature, Distribution, Chemistry,
Market Status, Analytical Methods, and Safety Concerns of this Popular Herb. The Journal of the American Botanical
Council, 98, 32-51.
