Herbal preparations don't relieve hot flushes

Black cohosh alone or combined with other botanical agents does not relieve the vasomotor symptoms of menopause any better than placebo, according to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine late last year. The 5-arm trial was carried out in women aged 44 to 55 who had at least 2 vasomotor symptoms each day at the start of the trial. The women were randomised to receive black cohosh, a multibotanical containing black cohosh and 9 other herbs, a multibotanical along with counselling on soy intake, oestrogen, with and without progesterone, and placebo. None of the herbal interventions was any better than placebo at 3, 6 or 12 months of follow-up. But hormonal treatment reduced the symptoms compared with placebo