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are associated with various other common signs of menopause such as headaches, sleeplessness and mood swings. chasteberry In , the extracts of both black cohosh and chaste tree berry work to normalize hormone production through the pituitary gland.* Black cohosh appears to address a wide range of menopausal symptoms, in part by selectively and significantly reducing levels of luteinizing hormone (released from the pituitary gland), which often results herb in suppression of hot flashes.* Chaste tree berry is known to work on lowering prolactin levels,(prolactin is a hormone of the anterior pituitary gland found in the serum of both normal females and males) which in turn increases the production of progesterone.* Low progesterone production is known to be responsible for many PMS symptoms and menstrual irregularity.* Scientists believe that the triterpene glycosides and flavonoids in black cohosh appear to work together in a myriad of ways, a belief echoed in the flavonoids of the chaste tree berry.* Some studies suggest that the compounds in black cohosh bind to estrogen receptors and mimic the effect of estriol, the weakest of the three levels of estrogen, This constant dance of hormones orchestrates our fertility, a dance that changes throughout the month and throughout our lives. Of the millions of follicles (eggs) in the ovaries, eight to ten mature each month. But, in most cases, only one reaches chasteberry the point that it ruptures and releases an egg (ovulation). The unused follicles herb die. After ovulation, chasteberry the ruptured herb follicle reconnects and continues to grow, becoming the chasteberry corpus luteum. In preparation for fertilization, it produces estrogen and progesterone to create an extra lining in the uterus. But after about 12 days, if no fertilization herb occurs, the corpus luteum dies, and estrogen and progesterone levels plunge. This causes the lining to be expelled. Menstruation begins. Hormonally, a woman''s period marks the end of chasteberry the menstrual cycle. A new cycle begins when the hypothalamus, in response to the dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone levels at the end of the last cycle, sends GnRh (another hormone) to the pituitary, which then releases a new batch of follicle stimulating herb hormones (FSH) to the chasteberry ovaries. This stimulates the maturation of a small group of follicles. The use in disturbances of the female genital system was first reported more than two thousand years ago. Nowadays ethanolic extracts from the fruit are used for the treatment of mastopathy, premenstrual syndrome herb and luteal insufficiency-complaints caused by a mild or latent hyperprolactinemia. The mode of action of Vitex agnus-castus extracts was studied in vitro using primary cultures from rat pituitaries as a test system. A dose dependent reduction of prolactin secretion was observed. The effect could be blocked by the dopamine-receptor chasteberry antagonist, haloperidol, confirming a dopamine agonistic activity of the drug. The prolactin lowering effect of Vitex agnus-castus was also found in in vivo experiments in rats. Clinical studies in patients with premenstrual herb syndrome, luteal insufficiency, and mastopathy show a simultaneous decrease in the clinical syndrome score and prolactin levels. In the monograph of the Commission E, a daily dosage of 30-40mg of an ethanolic extract of the fruit of Vitex agnus-castus is recommended for the treatment of the premenstrual syndrome, luteal phase defects and other disturbances of the menstrual cycle, as well for the treatment of mastodynia .
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