Aromatherapy

Herbal Books

Herb Chart

Herbal Remedies

Prep Methods

Conditions & Uses
Cimifuga raemosa
Wikimedia Commons
Cimifuga raemosa
Common Name Black Cohosh
Family RANUNCULACEAE
Other Names Black snake root, Squaw Root, Bugbane
Parts Used: root
Constituents Cimicifugin, racemosin, resins, astringent
Black Cohosh Remedies
remedy Remedies using Black Cohosh
How to prepare

Black Cohosh Medicinal Properties & Benefits
Astringent* Emmenagogue* Diuretic* Expectorant* phytoestrogen* Antiparasite*

Black cohosh contains numerous chemical constituents, among them isoflavones like formononetin, which mimics hormonal activity. This makes it useful for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and even the depression sometimes associated with menopause.

Though it is known primarily as a woman's herb, it is also acts as a nervine, giving relief to headaches, pain and muscle spasms. These pain relieving properties, coupled with it's anti-inflammatory action make the herb useful against the pain of arthritis.

Though black and blue cohosh are unrelated, they are often used together and have a synergistic, not interchangeable, relationship...While blue cohosh is primarily associated with blood flow to the pelvic area, black cohosh maintains it's effects through it's estrogen-like action. Black cohosh has a special affinity with menopausal women and is used in formulas to balance and regulate hormonal production during menopause. 17

History and Traditions
history During the mid-1800s, physicians prescribed black cohosh for arthritis, insomnia, menstrual cramps, and symptoms of influenza. Black cohosh was a favorite remedy among all tribes of the aborigines, (American Indians) being largely used by them in rheumatism, disorders of menstruation, and slow parturition. It was also used as a remedy against the bites of venomous snakes, with what success history does ,not relate, but we can easily judge. (Millspaugh, Charles F.,38[11-2])
Sponsored Links
referencesBlack Cohosh Medicinal Uses
Childbirth
[687] Black cohosh is given in combination with blue cohosh to stimulate uterine contractions in the last week of pregnancy

(Gladstar, Rosemary )

Artritis pain
[325] Black cohosh has a pain relieving and anti-inflammatory action that makes it useful for arthritis

(Grieve, Maude )

Estrogen and progesterone
[505] Studies suggest that this herb influences production and balance of estrogen and progesterone to maintain the health of the uterus and vagina.

( )

Menopause, hot flashes
[665] Black cohosh root can mimic estrogen in the body. It is useful for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and even the depression sometimes associated with menopause.

(White,Linda B., M.D. )

PMS, stress
[913] Helps to relieve the stress and nervous tension that accompany a womans menses
Female Tonic
[1221] In all the above uses except mayhap those concerning the lungs, we have proven its application trustworthy. Its usefulness in phthisis when given in proper dosage is simply to palliate the cough through its action upon the nerve centres. It will be found in most cases to act with far more constant success in females than in males, as its action upon the female economy is marked and distinctive.

(Millspaugh, Charles F 37[11-2])

Menopause, hormonal production
[725] Though black and blue cohosh are unrelated, they are often used together and have a synergistic, not interchangeable, relationship...While blue cohosh is primarily associated with blood flow to the pelvic area, black cohosh maintains it's effects through it's estrogen-like action. Black cohosh has a special affinity with menopausal women and is used in formulas to balance and regulate hormonal production during menopause.

(Gladstar, Rosemary )

Side Effects:
Some people report an upset stomach or other gastric complaints. Prolonged use (longer than 6 months) could cause side effects. Not for use while pregnant or nursing.
Plant Description
(Millspaugh, Charles F.,[11])
Cimifuga raemosaThis indigenous plant is comparatively common over the eastern half of the United States and in Canada, growing in rich, open woods, and along the edges of fields, but especially noticeable on newly cleared hill-sides. When woods in its favorite localities are at all dense, the plant will be found only in the borders. This tall, graceful, and showy perennial grows to a height ot n 3 to 8 feet. Rootstock thick, blackish, successively knotted and fringe-ringed, tish-yellow internally, with a ring of cuneiform wood-bundles pointing inward; rootlets long, simple, and uniform, a section under a lens shows the cuneiform-idles arranged like a cross.. Sepals 4-5, petal-like, scaphoid, early deciduous. tals (Staminodia) 1-8, very small, long clawed, and 2-horned or forked ; apices therose. Stamens numerous; filaments slender, club-shaped, creamy-white. (Millspaugh, Charles F.,38[11-2])
Folklore, Myths and Legends

Medicinal herbs : Properties and Uses

List Herbs by Common Name or List Herbs by Botanical Name
Common Name Listing
A - - - - - E F - - - - - - - - N O - - - - - - - - - - - Z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
mountain rose herbs

Common Typos: COVASH ,black cobash herbs, kohash

Mountain Rose Herbs
Buy Bulk Herbs and Oils
Certified Organic Black Cohosh Root
Cimifuga racemosa Origin- USA
Certified Organic Black Cohosh extract

Mountain Rose Herbs. A Herbs, Health & Harmony Com