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Gynecologic Indications for Herbal Remedies

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Rational Phytotherapy

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Abstract

Herbal remedies are used in the treatment of menstrual irregularities, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), dysmenorrhea, and menopausal complaints in cases where stronger-acting drugs are not indicated or are declined by the patient. Two medicinal plants stand out in the frequency with which they are prescribed for gynecologic complaints: chasteberries (used chiefly for PMS) and black cohosh rhizome (used principally for menopausal complaints) (Schwabe and Rabe, 1998). Table 7.1 also lists four other herbs recommended by Commission E as having gynecologic indications. It can be seen that the range of recommended dosages (column 3 in Table 7.1) is greater for gynecologic herbal remedies than for any other class of phytomedicenes. Some of the dosages are many times lower than the traditional single dose of about 1–4 g of crude drug taken in a cup of medicinal tea. There is an urgent need for pharmacologic and clinical studies to investigate the dose-dependency of the actions and efficacy of these drugs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oranienburger Chaussee 25, 13465, Berlin, Germany

    Prof. Dr. med. Volker Schulz

  2. Institut für Pharmakognosie und Phytochemie, Freien Universität Berlin, Germany

    Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Rudolf Hänsel

  3. Westpreußenstraße 71, 81927, München, Germany

    Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Rudolf Hänsel

  4. Purdue University, USA

    Prof. em. Varro E. Tyler Ph. D., Sc. D.

  5. P.O. Box 2566, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47996, USA

    Prof. em. Varro E. Tyler Ph. D., Sc. D.

Authors
  1. Prof. Dr. med. Volker Schulz
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  2. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Rudolf Hänsel
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  3. Prof. em. Varro E. Tyler Ph. D., Sc. D.
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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Schulz, V., Hänsel, R., Tyler, V.E. (2001). Gynecologic Indications for Herbal Remedies. In: Rational Phytotherapy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-98093-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-98093-0_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-98095-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-98093-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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