Black Cohosh monograph

[Guest guest]

Black Cohosh

Actea (formally Cimicifuga) racemosa

Ranunculaceae

Rhizoma et Radix Actea Racemosae

Common name: Black Snakeroot, Bugbane

Botanical description and harvesting: This large herbaceous forest dweller

(1-3 meters) is native to the Eastern part of the United States of America.

It can be found from the Great Lakes region nearly to Florida, however, over

harvesting and habitat destruction have caused a significant decline in the

wild population over the last century. The leaves are dark green, large,

alternate, and ternately compound with ovate to oblong, opposite and sharply

serrated leaflets. The inflorescence is made up of small white/cream fetid

flowers, born on a long slender raceme. The stamens are numerous and showy,

giving this plant an excellent place in the landscape garden. The mature

ovary dries to a dehiscent, ovate follicular capsule with numerous small

seeds.

Good quality is black and grayish with a sweetish smell. The taste should be

bitter and slightly acrid. There should be few very small rootlets, although

small roots are acceptable. The rhizome should be hard and somewhat brittle,

not pithy. Good fresh root is quite sweet as is fresh plant tincture, which

is the preferred liquid medicine.

Qi and Flavor: bitter, acrid, slightly sweet, slightly cool

Channels entered: liver, spleen, lung, heart

Actions: sedative, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic, diuretic, antitussive,

emmenagogue

Functions & Indications: Dispels wind and dampness for wind-damp impediment,

with symptoms such as muscle aches, lumbar pain and joint pain. Also used

for acute wind patterns especially when complicated by dampness with

symptoms such as chilliness, heat effusion, stiff neck, headache and body

aches.

Moves qi, quickens the blood and transforms stasis for qi stagnation or

blood stasis causing amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, flank pain,

mastitis and chest impediment.

Lifts yang qi for insufficient yang qi causing aching, dull or pulling pain

in the lumbo-sacral area, muscles or chest. This herb is also for false

labor (slippery fetus) where there is vacuity of yang qi unable to hold the

fetus.

Cautions: Use with caution during pregnancy, especially during the first

trimester.

Dosage and Preparation and Preparation: 3-9g in decoction; 2-4ml in tincture

Note that an overdose of this herb may cause a dull frontal headache.

Major combinations: Combine with Blue Cohosh for a variety of menstrual

disorders including amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, difficult labor and as

preparation for labor.

Combine with Motherwort and Bugleweed for chest impediment from blood stasis

due to either vacuity or repletion patterns according to the other herbs in

the formula.

Combine with Chaenomelis for cramping pain in the lower back or extremities.

Combine with Vitex, Cyperus, and Rose buds (mei gui hua) for dull/achy

menstrual pain, flank pain, and breast tenderness.

Combine with Angelica Duhuo and Dipsacus for chronic low back pain or other

impediment syndromes with pain and cold-damp, yang qi vacuity patterns.

Combine with Red Sage root and Notoginseng for chest impediment with heart

irregularities, palpitations, and pain.

Commentary: Black Cohosh is indicated for dull, achy, crampy, and/or

dragging pain anywhere in the body. It is used for rheumatism, headaches

(useful for HA due to eyestrain " bruised feeling " ), amenorrhea,

dysmenorrhea, and muscular pain. It is also an excellent antispasmodic for

muscle spasm, false labor, whooping cough, and asthma. It is hypotensive and

is used for high blood pressure especially when there is anxiety and stress

associated with it. It slows the heart but strengthens the beat similar to

digitalis but safely and with little chance of overdose causing more than a

dull headache. It is combined with Caulophyllum thalictroides, Michella

repens, and other herbs and taken several weeks before birth to help

facilitate labor (see Appendix II).

This is a very close relative to sheng ma (Rhizoma Cimicifugae) and in many

ways can be used as an analog to sheng ma. However, it is interesting to

note here that the American plant is much more widely used (it is very

popular throughout Europe and the Americas) for a much wider variety of

ailments than our Chinese species. For instance C. racemosa is indicated in

a number of gynecological maladies and is in fact considered by many to be

an extremely important medicinal for the treatment of many gynecological

diseases. Traditional gynecology finds this medicinal useful for amenorrhea,

dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, ovarian pain, mastitis, leucorrhoea, after-pain

and labor pains. With recent research on this plant it has found a very

popular place in the treatment of menopausal symptomology and for ovarian

insufficiency as well as possibly being useful for conditions requiring

reduction in LH (lutinizing hormone) levels (P & P of Phyto.. page 303).

Aside from the gynecology indications this plant is used for many spasmodic

conditions. In Chinese medicine the word " spasm " (jing luan) is not a

traditional term, rather a Western medical term that has become widely used

in Chinese medicine. However, this term can cover a lot of ground as put

forth in Wiseman and Ye's monumental A Practical Dictionary of Chinese

Medicine. It could mean any of the following: " hypertonicity " , which is

usually attributed to wind, specifically wind-cold, but could be a

manifestation of blood or liquid vacuity depriving the sinew vessels with

nourishment (pg. 294,606); " cramp " , which is due to insufficiency of qi and

blood, fatigue, dampness, or cold (pg104); " clenched jaw " , which is due to

wind-cold (pg.73); " arched-back rigidity " , which is due to wind-cold-damp,

or fire stagnating in the channels, or insufficiency of blood, fluid and qi,

allowing vacuity wind to stir internally (pg 10); " tugging and slackening " ,

which is exuberant heat damaging yin with wind and fire exacerbating each

other and to congestion of phlegm fire, in febrile disease, or in summerheat

disease, it is a sign of damage to the qi, or in epilepsy and lockjaw, it is

usually attributed to wind phlegm or phlegm heat, or spleen-stomach vacuity,

or liver cold, or (finally) it is sometimes seen after blood loss (pg. 631).

As one can see from the above there are three main factors that appear to

cause or contribute to many of what gets lumped under the Western term

spasm, in Chinese medicine; wind (generally with cold and/or damp), vacuity,

and heat. C. racemosa is excellent at treating most of these issues. It

dispels wind and damp, it raises yang qi (treating vacuity), and although it

does not strongly clear heat, it is slightly cool so does not resist an

attempt to clear heat in a formula. Further, although not mentioned in the

monograph I believe this medicinal to nourish the blood. I did not include

it in the monograph because I am not certain of this function. Therefore,

most of the factors mentioned above that play a part in " spasmodic

conditions " are treated by this medicinal.

The Latin name Cimicifuga is made up of the compound term cimex meaning bug

and fuga meaning repellent. This name was given to it because the plant does

not get infested with bugs. The species name racemosa is Latin for " cluster

of grapes " given to the plant for its appearance during fruiting.

Black Cohosh is or has been official in the following texts: British Herbal

Pharmacopoeia 1996, British Pharmaceutical Codex 1934-73, Erganzungshbuch

zum DAB 6 1941, Pharmacopoeia of Brazil 1926, Commission E Monographs 1989,

Martindale The Extra Pharmacopoeia 31st Edition 1996, The Pharmacopoeia of

Japan 11th Edition 1986, and The US National Formulary X-XIV 1955-75.

 

 

Chinese Herbology and Acupuncture

acupuncture and herbal information

 

 

 

" Knowing nothing, you will be aware of everything. "

Lao Tzu

[Guest guest]

, " " <

@e...> wrote:

> Black Cohosh

 

> Qi and Flavor: bitter, acrid, slightly sweet, slightly cool

 

why cool? I don't see strong justification for this. could you share your

rationale?

 

 

 

> Functions & Indications: Dispels wind and dampness for wind-damp

impediment,

> with symptoms such as muscle aches, lumbar pain and joint pain. Also used

> for acute wind patterns especially when complicated by dampness with

> symptoms such as chilliness, heat effusion, stiff neck, headache and body

> aches.

 

I agree with that function above

 

 

> Moves qi, quickens the blood and transforms stasis for qi stagnation or

> blood stasis causing amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, flank pain,

> mastitis and chest impediment.

 

is it qi stagnation and blood stasis or mainly qi stagnation. the pain is more

achy and spasmodic than sharp or stabbing, correct? So I would think mainly

qi, but like xiang fu, it dives deeper to the blood as well.

 

> Lifts yang qi for insufficient yang qi causing aching, dull or pulling pain

> in the lumbo-sacral area, muscles or chest. This herb is also for false

> labor (slippery fetus) where there is vacuity of yang qi unable to hold the

> fetus.

 

Are these western uses, or those of chinese cimicifuga (sheng ma) or both? I

know black cohosh is used for bearing down sensations and its ability to dispel

wind damp also confirms an uplifting action. I would say it also relieves liver

constraint. this combination of lifting spleen qi, dispelling wind damp and/or

relieving liver constraint is seen in a number of exterior releasing herbs

including fang feng, ge gen, qiang huo, bai zhi, bo he, chuan xiong.