Brandsford, W. D. (1988). Actae racemosa var. racemosa. Retrieved from: http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=9316
Botanical Name: Actaea racemosa/Cimicifuga racemosa
Common name: Black Cohosh, black snakeroot (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
Family: Ranunculaceae (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 428)
Parts used: root and rhizome (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
History/Folklore: Traditionally used in North America to treat snakebites hence its common name (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
Constituents: triterpene glycosides (incl. actein, 23-epi-26-deoxyacetin, cimiracemoside A and cimicifugoside); aromatic acids (incl. ferulic, isoferulic and aceryl caffeic acid); resins; tannins and fatty acids (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 428).
Actions
- Hormone modulation (Braun & Cohen, 2007, p. 185)
- Suppresses Luteinising hormone (LH) (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Antirheumatic (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Spasmolytic (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Anti-inflammatory (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 430)
- Antioxidant (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 430)
Indications
- Conditions requiring a reducing of LH levels
- Infertility
- Miscarriage
- Cyst formation
- Ovarian tumorigenesis
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Menopausal symptoms (Bone & Mills, 2013, pp. 427, 430-433; Braun & Cohen, 2007, p. 186; Beer & Neff, 2013)
- Arthritis and rheumatism (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Neuralagia (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Sciatica (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Menstrual disturbances (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427; Braun & Cohen, 2007, p. 187)
- Disorders or the respiratory tract (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Tinnitus (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Osteoperosis (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
Dosage & Preparation:
- Dried root/rhizome decoction: 0.9-6g/day
- Liquid extract (1:1): 0.9-6mL/day
- Tincture (1:5): 3.0-7.5mL/day
(Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
Cautions
- High doses may cause frontal headache (Bone & Mills, 2013, pp. 427, 436)
- Commission E suggests treatment should no exceed 6 months (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 427)
- Caution to be taken in individuals with oestrogen-sensitive malignant tumors (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 435)
- Long term use is associated with liver damage (low incidence) (Bone & Mills, 2013, pp. 435, 437; Braun & Cohen, 2007, p. 187)
Contraindications
- Pregnancy and lactation (despite traditional use for assisting childbirth) (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 428)
- Individuals with pre-existing liver disease (Bone & Mills, 2013, p. 435)
Materia Medica 
First, I would like to commend you for what you have done here. This is a very valuable website, and I am sure that many people will benefit from this website. However, I can’t seem to get the “Herb” List (the left column) to scroll down. Only Actaea racemosa to Cinnamomus zeylanicum, are visible, and I can’t see anything below that. I have tried using Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft’s Edge Internet browsers, and they fail to allow me to scroll the left column. Only the middle and right column scroll down. I’m not sure if anyone else is having this problem… Any suggestions?