Black Cohosh - Non-Timber Forest Products

Predny, Mary L.; De Angelis, Patricia; Chamberlain, James L. 2006. Black
cohosh (Actaea racemosa): an annotated bibliography. Gen. Tech. Rep.
SRS–97. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service,
Southern Research Station. 99 p.
Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa, Syn.: Cimicifuga racemosa), a member of
the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), is an erect perennial found in rich cove
forests of Eastern North America from Georgia to Ontario. Native Americans
used black cohosh for a variety of ailments including rheumatism, malaria, sore
throats, and complications associated with childbirth. Europeans have used this
important medicinal plant to treat menopausal symptoms for over 40 years.
Recent clinical evidence supports the efficacy and safety of black cohosh for
these symptoms. Recent decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
on hormone replacement therapy have increased the demand for black cohosh.
In a 1-year period ending in 1998, retail sales increased more than 500 percent.
In 2001, when retail sales in other segments of the herbal products industry
were down, black cohosh sales increased about 2 percent to an estimated value
of $6.2 million. Nearly 100 percent of black cohosh raw materials are wild
harvested. Though it has received an “apparently secure” ecological ranking on
the global and national scales, conservation groups list the species as “at risk”
in the United States and endangered in Illinois and Massachusetts. Research
is underway to determine sustainable harvest levels and to establish suitable
cultivation methods.
Keywords: Conservation, medicinal plants, menopause, nontimber forest
products, phytoestrogens, poaching.
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