Black Cohosh - Non-Timber Forest Products

harvests peaked in 1998 at 381 tons, then dropped to 61 tons in 2000.
Harvest levels of both wild and cultivated roots are provided from 1997
through 2001.
Keywords: Harvest, market.
Baillie, N.; Rasmussen, P. 1997. Black and blue cohosh in labour. New
Zealand Medical Journal. 110(1036): 20-21.
Responds to a report by Gunn and Wright (1996) that implicates the use
of blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) and black cohosh in the
neurological dysfunction of a newborn infant whose mother had been
given herbs by a midwife. The authors point out that the dosage, type of
preparation, and administration of the herbs was not specified. They note
that without this information it cannot be proven that the herbs themselves
caused the birth defects, as it is possible that they were not used correctly by
the midwife.
Keywords: Dosage, medicinal uses, preparations, side effects.
Baskin, J.M.; Baskin, C.C. 1985. Epicotyl dormancy in seeds of
Cimicifuga racemosa and Hepatica acutiloba. Bulletin of the Torrey
Botanical Club. 112(3): 253-257.
Examines the epicotyl dormancy of black cohosh seeds. Seeds require a
warm period to break radicle dormancy and a cold period to break epicotyl
dormancy. Complete germination in good conditions requires 6 months, but
can take up to a year and a half if seeds are sown after temperatures have
dropped in late autumn; in this case, radicle emergence is delayed until
after the summer of the following year. Cotyledons do not emerge until
after radicles have broken dormancy. This process allows the root system to
begin development before the cotyledons emerge, facilitating the uptake of
nutrients and water to the developing leaves.
Keywords: Research, seeds.
Beck, V.; Unterrieder, E.; Krenn, L. [and others]. 2003. Comparison of
hormonal activity (estrogen, androgen, and progestin) of standardized
plant extracts for large scale use in hormone replacement therapy. Journal
of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 84: 259-268.
Evaluates the chemical constituents and in vitro estrogenic activity of
black cohosh, soy (Glycine max), and red clover (Trifolium pratense).
29