Bulk Herbs: Black Cohosh root - cut

Excerpts from The How to Herb Book

Antispasmodic, Astringent, Diuretic, Sedative, Hormonal, Expectorant, Emmenagogue

Black Cohosh is used in many female combinations. It contains natural estrogen. Women who take synthetic estrogen have been able to switch to Black Cohosh immediately with no side effects of drug withdrawal symptoms. It has no cancer causing agent like synthetic estrogen.

• Regulates menstrual flow and is used with ginger for menstrual cramps.
• Used in uncomfortable symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and nervousness. It usually works better for this in combination with other female herbs.
• Used for nervous disorders, it is put in many nerve combinations.
• Has a tonic influence on the mucous and serous tissues of the body.
• Stimulates secretion of the liver, kidney, and lymph glands.
• Helps break up mucus in the lungs and head, in many sinus combinations.

Note: Taking too much Black Cohosh may cause a headache. It will go away in a few hours but you will know that you should take less the next time or switch to a combination without Black Cohosh.

Has been used in the following:

Excerpts from Practical Herbalism

“This is a very active, powerful, and useful remedy, and appears to fulfill a great number of indications. It possesses an undoubted influence over the nervous system. In small doses the appetite and digestion are improved, and larger amounts augment the secretions of the gastro-intestinal tract. Excretions from the skin and kidneys are increased by it, The peculiar earthy odor of the drug being imparted to the urine; the secretions of the bronchial mucous surfaces are also augmented under its administration. The heart-beat is slowed and given increased power by it, while arterial tension is elevated. Upon the reproductive organs it exerts a specific influence, promoting the menstrual discharge, and by its power on increasing contractility of the unstriped fibers of the uterus, it acts as an efficient parturient. The venereal propensity in man is also said to be stimulated by Cimicifuga.

Few of our remedies have acquired as great a reputation in the treatment of rheumatism and neuralgia. Indeed, few cases of rheumatism, or conditions depending upon a rheumatic basics, will present, which will not be influenced for the better by Cimicifuga. Rheumatism of the heart, diaphragm, psoas muscles, lumbago, stiff neck, in fact all cases characterized by that kind of pain known as ‘rheumatic’ – dull, tensive, intermittent; as if dependent upon a contracted state of muscular fiber – soreness in muscular tissue, especially over the abdomen and in the extensor and flexor muscles of the extremities, all yield readily to it. In eye strain, giving rise to headache, and associated with a sensation of stiffness in the ocular muscles, or a bruised feeling in the muscles of the frontal region, it will give marked benefit. In does of 1 fluid drachm of the tincture, repeated every hour, it has effected thorough cures of acute conjunctivitis, without the aid of any local application.”

“Cimicifuga plays a very important part in the therapeutics of gynecology. It is a remedy for atony of the reproductive tract. In the painful conditions incident to imperfect menstruation, its remedial action is fully displayed. By its special affinity for the female reproductive organs, it is an efficient agent for the restoration of suppressed menses. In dysmenorrheal it is surpassed by no other drug, being of greatest utility in irritative and congestive conditions of the uterus and appendages, characterized by tensive, dragging pains, resembling the pains of rheumatism. When there is a disordered action or lack of functional power in the uterus, giving rise to sterility, Cimicifuga often corrects the impaired condition and cures. It is the best and safest agent known for the relief of the after-pains of birth, and is effectual in allaying the general excitement of the nervous system after labor.

Cimicifuga exerts a powerful influence over the nervous system. Its action is slow, but its effects, are permanent. It has been used successfully as an anti-spasmodic in hysteria, epilepsy when due to menstrual failures, asthma and kindred affections, periodical convulsions, nervous excitability, pertussis, delirium tremens and many other spasmodic affections. For headaches, whether congestive or from cold, neuralgia, dysmenorrheal, or from la grippe, it is promptly curative. As a remedy for pain, Cimicifuga is a very prompt agent, often relieving in a few hours, painful conditions that have existed for a long time. In all cases where acidity of the stomach is present, this should first be removed, or some milk alkaline preparation be administered in conjunction with the remedy, before any beneficial change will ensue.”

The root is supposed to be an antidote against poison and the bit of the rattlesnake, when taken internally and applied as a poultice at the site of the bite.

Internal Indicated Usages:

Special Considerations:

Black Cohosh is a powerful remedy. Excessive doses may result in nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and a dramatic drop in blood pressure. Any use of the herb should probably be avoided during pregnancy until the final stages (last 5 weeks).

Excerpts from Nutritional Herbology

A decoction of the root is used to treat coughs, chest difficulties, diarrhea, and irregular menstruation.

Although reports vary, the use of black cohosh by American settler dates back to between 1696 and 1850. During the 19th century, it was used in New York hospitals in the treatment of rheumatism, although the medical establishment later eliminated this practice. Its use in the treatment of rheumatism has been widespread and still continues in some areas. For example, in Georgia it is mixed with other herbs in whisky. Historically, other uses have included treatment for scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, asthma, scrofula, St. Vitus’s dance, bronchitis, intercostal myalgia, sciatica, whooping cough, tinnitus, pericarditis, angina pectoris, gonorrhea in men, spermatorrhea, seminal emission, sexual weakness, dyspepsia, hysteria, menopause, and general difficulties involving the female reproductive system.

The herb is taken in small doses as it contains salicylic acid, a gastric irritant. Overdoses are easily identified by nausea and headache.

Black cohosh has been used externally to heal sores and puncture wounds. The most common internal uses have been in the treatment of rheumatism and pulmonary conditions. It is best known as a remedy for various ailments of the female reproductive system, including dysmenorrheal, amenorrhea, and difficult pregnancy and childbirth.

The drastic action of the irritant principles in black cohosh are not lethal, but overdoses are characterized by nausea and headache. Care, however, should be exercised by those using black cohosh with pregnant women, since the irritating principles that cause uterine contraction could potentially cause excessive hemorrhage.

The traditional virtues of this herb are best extracted by using hot water and preferably alcohol on the fresh root. Early settlers extracted whole roots with whiskey and drank it as a rheumatism cure. The antispasmodic and sedative properties of black cohosh are only present in the whole, fresh root. The dried, powdered black cohosh in common use today contains only the irritating principles described above.

Black cohosh contains bitter compounds that relive smooth muscle spasms, reduce blood pressure and dilate peripheral blood vessels. It also contains astringent compounds that shrink inflamed tissue. Black cohosh has been employed in most inflammatory conditions associated with spasm or tension. It is an excellent herbal source of iron and Vitamin A. Black cohosh has been used to treat menstrual cramps, nervous tension, anxiety, dysmenorrheal, hysteria, menopause, fevers and headaches.

Black Cohosh is high or very high in:

Volume Discounts on Bulk Herbs Only

• 5 lbs. - 9 3/4 lbs. = 5% off
• 10 lbs. - 24 3/4 lbs. = 10% off
• 25 lbs. - 39 3/4 lbs. = 20% off
• 40 lbs. - 59 3/4 lbs. = 30% off
• 60 lbs. + = 40% off
• Bulk Herbs may be mixed and matched

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