Agnus-Castus

Vitex (Chasteberry), Vitex Agnus-Castus, Verbenaceae

GENERAL USE

Vitex has been used historically for the following ailments: Female reproductive system health, PMS or premenstrual syndrome, Heavy or frequent menstrual cycles, Absence of menstruation (amenorrhea), Certain types of infertility, Milk production in nursing women (lactation), Menopause, etc.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Agnus-Castus is one of the oldest medicinal herbs. As early as the 400 B.C., Hippocrates, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus mention the use of vitex for a wide variety of conditions, including hemorrhage following childbirth, and also to assist with the “passing of afterbirth.” Decoctions of the fruit and plant were also used in sitz baths for diseases of the uterus. In addition, vitex was believed to suppress libido and inspire chastity, which explains one of its common names, chaste tree. Vitex works indirectly to help enhance the body’s natural balance of progesterone and estrogen. Pharmacological investigations show that it acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which are primarily responsible for regulating the body’s hormones. This herb is known to help stimulate the pituitary gland to increase the production of luteinizing hormone (LH), which tends to result in higher levels of progesterone during the second cycle of the women’s menstrual cycle or luteal phase. Oftentimes, when there is a progesterone deficiency, estrogen continues to dominate the luteal phase of the cycle, thus, causing much of the female problems.