black cohosh

black cohosh

The black cohosh (Actaea racemosa, formerly Cimicifuga racemosa) is a medicinal herb used primarily to relieve symptoms of menopause.

 In recent years, many international agencies regulatory observed a possible relationship between black cohosh and toxicity of footnote 1 foieNote, Footnote page 2, page Footnote 3 Rating Footnote 4. In 2005, an article in the Canadian Bulletin indésirablesNote effects footnote 5 was designed to inform healthcare professionals of international reports of liver reactions suspected of being associated with the use of this product natural health. At the time of publication, Health Canada had not received any domestic reports of such reactions. To notify the public of the risk, Health Canada issued a Notice of publicNote bottom of page 6, footnote page 7 and required affixing a warning on the labels of products containing black cohosh allowed black clusters.

From January 2005 to March 2009, Health Canada received 6 domestic reports of liver reactions suspected of being associated with black cohosh. The six cases were reported as severe .

Analyses conducted by Health Canada laboratories of 3 products (one patient was taking 2 Swiss Herbal products) suspected in 2 adverse event reports revealed that these products did not contain authentic black cohosh in clusters. Their phytochemical profiles were consistent with those of other species of related plants.

Although research has revealed identity of medicinal plants problems for some products sold in the US as black cohosh to noiresNote clusters footnote 8, the Canadian cases show that the products do not contain black cohosh authentic black clusters may be associated with adverse effects hépatiquesNote footnote 9, page Footnote 10.

We recently conducted tests of authenticity of all products containing black cohosh and authorized for sale in Canada; have been used recently updated authentication methods that are required to determine unequivocally the identity of the footer produitNote 11. This study has resulted in the voluntary recall of several products containing no cohosh authentic black clusters, including products reported in 4 of the statements listed in Table 1.

Health Canada continues to monitor the situation and additional reminders of other manufacturers are possible. Health care professionals are encouraged to report any adverse reactions suspected of being associated with the use of products containing black cohosh to Health Canada