Chaste-Berry contains several different constituents, including flavonoids, iridoid glycosides, and terpenoids. Chaste berry does not contain hormones. The benefits of chaste berry stem from its actions upon the pituitary gland. Chaste berry keeps prolactin secretion in check. The ability to decrease mildly elevated prolactin levels may benefit some women with breast tenderness associated with PMS. Chaste berry may also be helpful in menopause.

Enzymatic Therapy - Chaste Berry Extract

Chasteberry Supplement Facts
Serving Size 1 capsule

Chaste berry Tree -  225 mg
    (Vitex agnus-castus) Berry Extract
    Standardized to contain a minimum of 0.5% agnuside
    (1,130 mcg per capsule)

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Chaste berry: The PMS relief herb
PMS (premenstrual syndrome) is the name of a group of symptoms that start 7 to 14 days before a period and stop soon after the period begins. Most women feel some discomfort before their periods but those with PMS may feel so anxious, depressed or uncomfortable that they can't cope at home or at work. Some of the symptoms include a bloated abdomen, feeling tired and tense, headache, tender and swollen breasts, and wanting to be alone.
   PMS seems to be linked in part to changes in hormone levels during the menstrual cycle, and perhaps partly due to elevated levels of a pituitary hormone called prolactin.
   Several studies over the past few years have indicated that extracts from chaste berry (the fruit of a small Eurasian tree, also called Vitex agnus) help with symptoms of PMS. In a recent study done in Germany, 86 patients with PMS were treated daily with one tablet (20 mg chaste berry extract) during three menstrual cycles. At the end of the study, many PMS-related symptoms were significantly reduced by treatment with chaste berry in the majority of the participants. No serious adverse effects were reported. The researchers say, "Extract of chaste berry  is an effective and well tolerated treatment for the relief of symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome."
   How chaste berry works is not clear, but one possibility is that it may reduce the release of prolactin from the pituitary gland.
    At least two previous studies have also shown the beneficial effects of chaste berry in relation to PMS. Other natural therapies that could be helpful include exercise, yoga, B vitamins, calcium supplements, and reduction of simple sugars, alcohol and caffeine.

Hormone replacement therapy and menopause
Recent studies indicate that long term replacement with Premarin (horse derived estrogens) and synthetic progesterone increases the risk for heart disease, cancer, blood clots and gallbladder disease.  The field of hormone or herbal therapy during or after menopause is very complicated and there is no consensus within the medical community regarding the best option for long term therapy. The medical community seems to be shifting its viewpoint on hormone replacement. It appears that most traditional doctors now prefer using low doses of hormones for a brief period of time to treat menopausal symptoms, but prefer not to continue hormone replacement therapy indefinitely as in the past.

Chaste Berry study
Fluoxetine versus Vitex agnus castus extract (chaste berry ) in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Hum Psychopharmacol. 2003 Apr;18(3):191-5.
Clinical trials have demonstrated that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and the extract of chaste berry are effective for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study comparing the efficacy of the SRIs with chaste berry extract. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), with that of the chaste berry extract, a natural choice. After a period of 2 screening months to screen the patients for suitability, 41 patients with PMDD according to DSM-IV were recruited into the study. The patients were randomized to fluoxetine or chaste berry for 2 months of single-blind, rater- blinded and prospective treatment period. The outcome measures included the Penn daily symptom report (DSR), the Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D), and the clinical global impression-severity of illness (CGI-SI) and -improvement (CGI-I) scales. At endpoint, using the clinical criterion for improvement, a similar percentage of patients responded to fluoxetine (68.4%, n = 13) and chaste berry (57.9%, n = 11). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with respect to the rate of responders. This preliminary study suggests that patients with PMDD respond well to treatment with both fluoxetine and chaste berry. However, fluoxetine was more effective for psychological symptoms while the extract diminished the physical symptoms.

Evaluation of estrogenic activity of plant extracts for the potential treatment of menopausal symptoms.
J Agric Food Chem 2001 May;49(5):2472-9
Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, College of Pharmacy, M/C 781, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 South Wood Street, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Eight botanical preparations that are commonly used for the treatment of menopausal symptoms were tested for estrogenic activity. Methanol extracts of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), chaste berry (Vitex agnus-castus L.), and hops (Humulus lupulus L.) showed significant competitive binding to estrogen receptors alpha (ER alpha) and beta (ER beta). With cultured Ishikawa (endometrial) cells, red clover and hops exhibited estrogenic activity as indicated by induction of alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and up-regulation of progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA. Chasteberry also stimulated PR expression, but no induction of AP activity was observed. In S30 breast cancer cells, pS2 (presenelin-2), another estrogen-inducible gene, was up-regulated in the presence of red clover, hops, and chasteberry. Interestingly, extracts of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) and North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) induced pS2 mRNA expression in S30 cells, but no significant ER binding affinity, AP induction, or PR expression was noted in Ishikawa cells. Dong quai [Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels] and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) showed only weak ER binding and PR and pS2 mRNA induction. Black cohosh [Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.] showed no activity in any of the above in vitro assays. Bioassay-guided isolation utilizing ER competitive binding as a monitor and screening using ultrafiltration LC-MS revealed that genistein was the most active component of red clover. Consistent with this observation, genistein was found to be the most effective of four red clover isoflavones tested in the above in vitro assays. Therefore, estrogenic components of plant extracts can be identified using assays for estrogenic activity along with screening and identification of the active components using ultrafiltration LC-MS. These data suggest a potential use for some dietary supplements, ingested by human beings, in the treatment of menopausal symptoms.

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