POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
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FRIDAY, 10:15-11:00 AM
Jiang B, Kronenberg F, Nuntanakorn P, Kennelly EJ.
Quality evaluation of black cohosh products: a dietary
supplement used for menopausal hot flashes.
Rosenthal Center for CAM, Columbia University
College P&S Fk11@columbia.edu
Actaea racemosa L. (black cohosh) (syn. Cimicifuga
racemosa), a plant native to Eastern North America, has a long and
diverse history of medicinal use. Black cohosh was traditionally used
by Native Americans and early colonists to treat a variety of health
conditions. During the past 40 years, in North America and Europe, the
roots and rhizomes of this plant have been used as herbal medicine for
the treatment of symptoms related to menopause. Black cohosh has become
increasingly popular as a dietary supplement in the US for the treatment
of menopausal hot flashes, with retail sales in 2000 ranking 14th of
all herbals, and increasing to 8th in 2004 in the U.S. market. But the
quality of most products containing black cohosh has not been evaluated,
nor is the manufacturing highly regulated in the U.S.
Since black cohosh is still primarily wildcrafted
in the U.S., over-harvesting is beginning to threaten its existence
in the wild. Related Actaea species are cultivated in China,
and can be purchased at a lower cost than American black cohosh. According
to phytochemical research, Asian Actaea species have chemical
constituents different from those of black cohosh, and have had different
used in Traditional Chinese medicine. At this point in our knowledge,
they should not be substituted for black cohosh.
In this study, eleven products sold as black cohosh
were analyzed by HPLC-PDA (high-performance liquid chromatography-photo-diode-array)
and a new SIM (selected ion mode) LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry) method to determine the major constituents of black cohosh:
triterpene glycosides and phenolic constituents. Three of the eleven
products were found to contain Asian Actaea species only, instead
of black cohosh, and one product contained both black cohosh and an
Asian Actaea species. For the products containing only black
cohosh, there was significant product-to-product variability in the
amounts of the selected triterpene glycosides and phenolic constituents.
SIM LC-MS is an effective method for identification and quality control
of black cohosh and its products. The presence of inappropriate Actaea
species in products being marketed as black cohosh highlights the critical
need for improved quality control of botanical dietary supplements being
sold in the U.S.
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