| By Ted Waszkuc, Ph.D., NOW Methods Development Scientist Black Cohosh, [Actaea (previously Cimicifuga) racemosa L.] 1 (family Ranunculaceae, common name: buttercup) is a leafy perennial, herbaceous plant native to Eastern North America, where it grows commonly in shady forests from southern New England to Wisconsin.2 The plant, also called black snakeroot or squaw root, has been known to herbal practitioners since the 18th century and has a history of use as a diuretic, anti-diarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory3 and as a remedy for female complaints.4,5 The genus Actaea includes several species, some like Black Cohosh native to North America and others coming from northeast Asia, collectively known as Sheng-Ma in the Chinese herbal tradition.6 They are also commonly known as bugbanes, referring to the strong, unpleasant odor - especially the Asian representative Actaea cimicifuga (previously Cimicifuga foetida) - earning them a reputation as an insect-repelling plant. The former genus name itself comes from the Latin word cimex – meaning a bed bug and fugare - “to drive away”. Black Cohosh root extract is a component in phytopharmaceutical (literally: “plant medicine”) preparations used for treatment of menopausal disturbances and as a female hormone balancer. 7 Black Cohosh botanical products rank among the top ten North American nutraceutical products. Botanical identification of the plant raw material used in manufacturing dietary supplements is a critical step in quality control. The quality and efficacy of botanical products is a primary goal of NOW Foods. The classification of plants generally is done by naming three major categories: family, genus (plural: genera) and species. Plants grouped into the same plant family have many botanical features in common. The structures of the flower parts are usually key traits by which a plant family may be determined, and the similarity of these parts within a family is often easily recognizable, even by the layman. A family of plants is subsequently divided into different genera (plural of genus). Each botanical genus comes from a single ancestor. Many genera are well-known, e.g. different cereals and grasses (family Poaceae), like oats (genus Avena), wheat (Triticum), rice (Oryza) or corn (Zea). Individual members of a genus are called species and they typically share many more anatomical and phytochemical features that set them apart from other genera in the family. This is the level that defines an individual plant, e.g. Avena, species sativa, also called Avena sativa (common name: wild oats). The genus-plus-species binominal (genus and species names used together; for example, Avena sativa) scientific names are in Latin and there is generally only a single one that is correct, compared to sometimes many common names in use for a specific plant. Names of the genus, as well as the family, are capitalized and italics are used for genus and species within them; names of species are not capitalized. Sometimes, these Latin names have been updated to meet modern scientific standards and so there is more than one correct Latin name. In spite of its established reputation as a dietary supplement for treatment of symptoms related to menopause, Black Cohosh products’ botanical authenticity have not been thoroughly evaluated, nor are their manufacturing highly regulated in the US. Since to date all clinical studies that monitored climacteric symptoms have been exclusively conducted on A. racemosa-containing preparations 8,9,10,11, only the plant material coming from Black Cohosh is considered as the genuine ingredient in such products.12 Analysis of supplements from the US market labeled as Black Cohosh has revealed that some of them do not contain Actaea racemosa, a plant native to North America.13 Several species of Actaea of Chinese origin that are in the same genus as Black Cohosh - but are not Black Cohosh - may have been substituted for genuine plant material, with Actaea cimicifuga (a.k.a. Cimicifuga foetida) the most commonly used. According to Chromadex, a California-based natural plant ingredient reference standards supplier, a “large part of the adulterated ‘Black cohosh’ extracts are produced in China from species other than C. racemosa. It is also interesting to note that the plant itself, Black Cohosh (C. racemosa) is not present in China.”14 Modern chromatographic techniques can distinguish between the phytochemical compositions of different species from within the same plant genus by running a full spectrum HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) “fingerprint” profile. A chromone compound (chemically related to flavonoids) called Cimifugin is present in many adulterated “Black Cohosh” products. Cimifugin naturally occurs in many of the Asian Actaea species that are presently used as economic (cheap) adulterants. Cimifugin is not present in authentic A. racemosa; therefore detection of Cimifugin proves that a product is not Black Cohosh. The NOW Foods Quality Control group has adopted and modified the HPLC methodology for Black Cohosh identification and authenticity confirmation.6,13 This allows us to check for the absence (or presence) of Cimifugin to assure that our Black Cohosh containing products are made using genuine Actaea racemosa root powder or extract, as specified. NOW does not accept other Actaea species in place of genuine black cohosh. References: 1. Compton, J.A. et al. Reclassification of Actaea to include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): phylogeny inferred from morphology. Taxon 47, 593-634 (1998) 2. Foster, S., Black Cohosh: a literature review. HerbalGram. 45, 35-50 (1999) 3. Murray, M.T., Pizzorno, J.E., (Eds), 1999. Textbook of Natural Medicine. Churchill Livingstone, Bastry University, Kenmore, Washington, pp.1387-1396. 4. Liske, E., Therapeutic efficacy and safety of Cimicifuga racemosa for gynecologic disorders. Adv. Ther. 15, 45-53 (1998) 5. Liberman, S., A review of the effectiveness of Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh) for the symptoms of menopause. J. Women’s Health 7, 525-529 (1998) 6. Kan He et al. Cimicifuga species identification by high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array/mass spectrometric/evaporative light scattering detection for quality control of black cohosh products. J.Chromaotgr. A, 1112, 241-254 (2006) 7. Borrelli, F., et al. Minireview. Pharmacological effects of Cimicifuga racemosa. Life Sciences 73, 1215-1229 (2003) 8. Wuttke, W., et al. Efficacy and tolerability of the Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) ethanolic extract BNO 1055 on climacteric complaints: A double-blind, placebo- and conjugated estrogens-controlled study. Maturitas 55S, S83-S91 (2006) 9. Frei-Kleiner, S., et al. Cimicifuga racemosa dried ethanolic extract in menopausal disorders: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Maturitas 51, 397-404 (2005) 10. Hernandez Munoz, G., et al. Cimicifuga racemosa for the treatment of hot flushes in women surviving breast cancer. Maturitas 44 Suppl. 1, S59-S65 (2003) 11. Borrelli, F., et al. Cimicifuga racemosa: a systematic review of its clinical efficacy. Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 58, 235-241 (2002), and references cited herein. 12. Blumenthal, M. Black Cohosh safety. HerbalGram 72, 5 (2006) 13. Jiang, B. et al. Evaluation of the botanical authenticity and phytochemical profile of Black Cohosh products by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Selected Ion Monitoring Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54, 3242-3253 (2006) 14. Chromadex black cohosh adulteration products list. Available at http://www.chromadex.com/NewProducts/Black_Cohosh.pdf | 
