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Review: most herbal treatments have no benefit for menopausal symptoms

Key Words: complementary therapies • menopause

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Data sources
Studies were identified by searching Medline (1966 to March 2002), the Alternative and Complementary Database (AMED) (1985 to 2000), and personal files.

Study selection
Studies in any language were selected if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of CAM treatments in menopausal women. Studies of single symptoms or conditions that were not associated with menopause were excluded.

Data extraction
Data were extracted on study year, country, design, patient characteristics, dose and duration of treatment, outcome measures, and results. Study quality was not assessed.

Main results
29 RCTs were included. The table summarises the RCT findings. 3 of 4 short term RCTs on black cohosh reported no difference in symptoms compared with control. 6 of 11 RCTs with dietary phyto-oestrogens (soy or isoflavone supplementation) showed some improvement in hot flashes or menopausal symptoms. Red clover, evening primrose oil, ginseng, dong quai, a Chinese herbal formula, vitamin E, and wild yam cream did not reduce hot flashes. For . . . [Full text of this article]

Angela M Cheung, MD, PhD, Rishma Walji, BSc, ND

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada