[Lotus]

Thanks for your reply Lotus. So would you say that Vitex might be more safe to take than RC since Vitex will typically raise progesterone?

They both have their issues, also each has different M/F reactions. Between the two it's like peeling an onion, so I'll need to spread this out over a few posts, cause peeling the layers there's so many other NBE possibilities. From what I've seen vitex has more safe guards. You'll literally find dozens if not 100's more studies of contradictory evidence (as usual). Imo, vitex has more safe guards, one positive is it's a COX2 inhibitor, which lowers PGE2 (prostaglandin 2 can stimulate cancer progression). Green tea is a COX 2 inhibitor.


Vitex agnus-castus extracts for female reproductive disorders: a systematic review of clinical trials.

one trial reported it to be superior to placebo for reducing TRH-stimulated prolactin secretion, normalising a shortened luteal phase, increasing mid-luteal progesterone and 17β-oestradiol levels, while the other found Vitex comparable to bromocriptine for reducing serum prolactin levels and ameliorating cyclic mastalgia.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23136064

Eight botanical preparations that are commonly used for the treatment of menopausal symptoms were tested for estrogenic activity. Methanol extracts of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus L.), and hops (Humulus lupulus L.) showed significant competitive binding to estrogen receptors alpha (ER alpha) and beta (ER beta). With cultured Ishikawa (endometrial) cells, red clover and hops exhibited estrogenic activity as indicated by induction of alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and up-regulation of progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA.

Bioassay-guided isolation, utilizing ER binding as a monitor, resulted in the isolation of linoleic acid as one possible estrogenic component of the extract. The use of pulsed ultrafiltration liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which is an affinity-based screening technique, also identified linoleic acid as an ER ligand based on its selective affinity, molecular weight, and retention time. Linoleic acid also stimulated mRNA ERbeta expression in T47D:A18 cells, PR


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COX is involved in the regulation of day-to-day cellular and metabolic activities such as maintaining stomach lining integrity, regulating blood flow within the kidneys, and balancing platelet function, [19] whereas COX-2 triggers by response to a variety of pro-inflammatory stimulation. [20] COX-2 regulates prostaglandin production by regulating arachidonic acid pathway in inflammatory cells for healing and repairing. [21] Therefore, inhibition of COX, and inhibiting the release of prostaglandins, is an important way to suppress inflammatory response (PGE2).