Herbal Emmenagogues





Achillea millefolium	Yarrow			



Anemone pulsatilla	Pasque Flower

Artemisia abrotanum	Southernwood

Artemisia absinthium	Wormwood	

Artemisia vulgaris	Mugwort



Calendula officinalis	Calendula	

Caulophyllum thalictroides 	Blue Cohosh

Chamaelirium luteum	False Unicorn Root

Cimicifuga racemosa	Black Cohosh

Gentiana spp.	Gentian	

Hydrastis canadensis	Golden Seal	

Hyssopus officinalis	Hyssop	

Lavandula officinalis	Lavender



Leonurus cardiaca	Motherwort	



Marrubium vulgare	Horehound

Marsdenia condurango	Condurango

Marrubium vulgare	Chamomile 	



Mentha piperita	Peppermint	

Mentha pulegium	Pennyroyal	



Mitchella repens	Partridge Berry



Petroselinum sativum	Parsley	



Rosemarinus officinalis	Rosemary		



Rubus idaeus	Raspberry

Ruta graveolens	Rue



Salvia officinalis	Sage	



Salvia officinalis var. rubia	Red Sage		



Senecio aureus	Life Root

Tanacetum parthenium	Feverfew

Tanacetum vulgare	Tansy



Thymus spp.	Thyme	



Tilia spp.	Linden

Trillium erectum	Beth Root

Trigonella foenum-graecum	Fenugreek

Tropaeolum majus	Nasturtium



Valeriana officinalis	Valerian	



Verbena officinalis	Vervain

Viburnum opulus	Cramp Bark

Viburnum prunifolium	Black Haw

Vitex agnus-castis	Chasteberry



Zingiber officinale	Ginger	







	Attempting to clarify this situation, here is a list of the more toning emmenagogues in terms of their main impact on this fundamental body process. Remember that all bitters will have an emmenagogue effect in the strict sense of the word. If this is not immediate evident please review the section on bitters.



Uterine Tonics : 

	These are plants that have a toning, strengthening, nourishing effect upon both the tissue and functioning of the female reproductive system. The hows and whys are usually unknown, but this should not belittle their remarkable therapeutic value. The differential indications are one of the most confused area of modern Herbalism. This is explored more below. Important examples:





Blue Cohosh ~ Black Cohosh ~ False Unicorn Root ~ Raspberry ~ Life Root ~ Partridge Berry



Emmenagogues : 

	Of the many plants that can stimulate the menstrual process, some have a tonic effect on the system as well. Simply triggering menstruation does not imply anything other than that. Of the emmenagogues listed some work through bitter stimulation, others through localized irritation etc.. The herbs mentioned here will also nourish the system to some degree:





Mugwort ~ Yarrow ~ Partridge Berry ~ False Unicorn Root 





Hormonal Normalizers : 

	A number of plants have a direct impact upon hormonal levels in the body. Of course there are many human hormones and only a few impact reproductive function. Many claims can be made about plants that effect hormonal balance, but here we should limit the plants to those that have an observable influence. Little endocrinological research has been undertaken on these herbs so it is impossible to be specific, thus the herbalist tends to talk in terms of hormonal modulators or normalizers. The most important one in European Phytotherapy is Chasteberry, which it is fair to describe as a normalizer as it will tend to move the body back to normal function regardless of which female sex hormone is deficient or in excess. How this works is a matter of conjecture. The uterine tonics and bitters may have a similar effect because of some more generalized toning influence, but this is not as predictable as with Chasteberry.





Chasteberry ~ uterine tonics ~ bitter tonics



Uterine Astringents : 

	Herbs abound that reduce blood loss from the uterus, wether in excessive periods (menorrhagia), bleeding between periods (metrorrhagia), or that associated with organic disease such as fibroids. An important but unanswered question is how they work because no astringent tannin will reach the tissue from the gut. It is possible that an hormonal process is involved with some of the plants but all. Of the many valuable remedies list as astringents at the beginning of this chapter, the most toning are:



Beth Root ~ Yarrow



	Other important uterine astringents not in the list of emmenagogues above are :



Periwinkle ~ Shepherds Purse ~ American Cranesbill ~ Ladies Mantle



Uterine Demulcents : 

	Similar comments can be said about the important demulcent remedies for this system. There is no way that mucopolysaccharide will find its way there from the digestive process, but still there is no question that these remedies will soothe inflamed tissue. The most toning is:





Blue Cohosh



Nervines & Anti-spasmodics : 

	There are also a number of valuable remedies that impact the autonomic innervation of this complex system. By using the appropriate nervine or antispasmodic much can be achieved in terms of correcting functional tone. Here we can mention:





Black Haw ~ Cramp Bark ~ Black Cohosh ~ Motherwort ~ Pasque Flower

The herbalist by David Hoffman, (c)1993 David Hoffman, Hopkins Technology