Chaste Tree Berry Balances the Reproductive System

Chaste tree berry (also known as Vitex and by the trade name Femaprin) was at one time called Monk's pepper because of its supposed ability to decrease sexual drives. However, others have taken it to enhance sexual drives. How could it do both at the same time?

Though it grows to a height of twenty-two feet, chaste tree is just a large shrub native to the Mediterranean and southern Europe. Naturally it grows on moist riverbanks, but it can be grown in ornamental gardens in America as well. Look for its blue-violet flowers to blossom in midsummer. Chaste tree berries are only used to treat female problems today.

That it could bring about opposite responses is not limited to sex drives. Chaste berry has been used to inhibit excessive milk in nursing mothers and to encourage lactation. It magnifies post menopausal problems and solves them. It both hinders conception and helps overcome infertility.

How can this be explained? Chaste tree berry is what is called an adaptogen. This means it works to normalize hormone imbalance through its affect on the adrenal glands, in this case the pituitary. In other words, it restricts hormonal excesses and encourages deficiencies. Other examples of herb that are adaptogens would include ginseng, ginkgo, garlic, echinacea, goldenseal, and taheebo.

In order to balance the body hormones, chaste tree berry decreases the production of some hormones and increases the production of others. Some claim its success in treating infertility because it tends to shift the balance in favor of the gestagens which are hormones that condition the body for pregnancy.

Chaste tree berry encourages production of progesterone. This is why the herb is especially effective in balancing the female reproductive system. It is taken to help restore menstruation, to regulate heavy periods, and, as mentioned above, to restore fertility caused by hormonal imbalance. Some using it have found relief from PMS tension, and eased the changes during menopause. Premenstrual breast tenderness, linked to excess prolactin, is helped with chaste tree berry.

Other uses include relief of paralysis, pains in the limbs, and neuropathic muscular weakness, all treated with chaste berry tincture. Chaste berries are even used to treat acne in men and women. The berries can be ground in a pepper mill and used as a mild substitute for black pepper. The spicy aroma of the leaves and flowers are used for flavoring.

Dose: Take 20 to 40 mg of the herb, or its equivalent daily. If using a tincture, 20 drops one or two times a day is normal. Capsules or tea (one cup) may also be used. Taking chaste berry shortly before bedtime may improve sleep. Chaste tree berry is slow acting and it may take two or three months to know if it is helping.

Though not universally held, some say pregnant women and nursing mothers should not take chaste tree berry. A woman suffering from a hormone-sensitive cancer (e.g. uterus, breast, pituitary, etc.) should not take it. Nor should a woman taking hormone drugs such as oral contraceptives or menopausal hormone replacement therapies. Some react to it with an itchy allergic rash, some with mild nausea, and some with headaches. A few women have said that their cycle length changes.