Popular Women’s Health Dietary Supplements (Rank Order Popularity 2014)
From Blumenthal et al., 2015.
| Rank | Latin Name | Common Name | Use | Reported Mechanism | Proposed Phytochemical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | Vaccinium macrocarpon | Cranberry | UTI | Bacterial adhesion | Proanthocyanidins |
| 4. | Actaea/Cimicifuga racemosa | Black cohosh | Menopause | Serotonin | N-methylserotonin |
| 5. | Linum usitatissimum | Flaxseed | Menopausea | Estrogen | Enterodiol/lenterolactone |
| 6. | Valeriana officinalis | Valerian | Menopause/PMSb | Serotonin | Valerenic acid |
| 10. | Zingiber officinale | Ginger | Nausea/PMSc | Prokinetic | Gingerols/shogaols |
| 12. | Silybum marianum | Milk thistle | Lactationd | Prolactin/estrogen | Silybin B |
| 16. | Epimedium species | Horny goat weed | Menopause/PMS | Estrogen | Icaritin -> desmethylicaritin |
| 27. | Lepidium meyenii | Maca | Menopause | Estrogen | Phytosterols |
| 28. | Trigonella foenum-graecum | Fenugreek | Lactation | Estrogen | Diosgenin, apigenin, luteolin |
| 29. | Isoflavones | ||||
| Glycine max | Soy | Menopause/bone | Estrogen | Genistein, daidzein -> equol | |
| Trifolium pratense | Red clover | Menopause/bone | Estrogen | Biochanin A -> genistein | |
| Pueraria lobata | Kudzu | Menopause | Estrogen | Puerarin -> daidzein | |
| Eriosema laurentii | Guinea-bissau | Menopause | Estrogen | Lupinalbin A | |
| 37. | Oenothera biennis | Evening primrose | Menopause/PMSe | Estrogen | γ-linolenic acid |
| Not ranked (out of top 40)f | |||||
| Angelica sinensis | Dong quai | Menopause/PMS | SERM/unknown | Ligustilide | |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi | Bearberry | UTI | Antibacterial | Arbutin | |
| Dioscorea villosa | Wild yam | Menopause/PMS | Estrogen | Diosgenin | |
| Glycyrrhiza species | Licorice | Menopause | Estrogen | Liquiritigenin | |
| Humulus lupulus | Hops | Menopauseb | Estrogen | Xanthohumol -> 8-PN | |
| Medicago sativa | Alfalfa | Menopause | Estrogen | Coumestrol | |
| Rheum rhaponticum | Rhubarb | Menopause | Estrogen | Piceatannol | |
| Vitex agnus-castus | Chasteberry | Menopause/PMS | CNS/estrogen | Apigenin/penduletin | |
| Viburnum opulus/prunifolium | Cramp bark/black haw | PMS | Antispasmodic | Scopoletin | |
SERM, selective estrogen receptor modulator.
↵a More commonly used for lipid lowering and anti-inflammatory.
↵b More commonly used as a sedative.
↵c More commonly used for anti-inflammatory and immune modulation.
↵d More commonly used for liver detoxification.
↵e More commonly used to treat eczema.
↵f Alphabetical order.