Chasteberry, also known as chaste-tree berry, vitex and monk's pepper, comes from the chaste tree, a small tree that grows in the Mediterranean region and Central Asia, according to the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Chasteberry has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years.
PMS
Several clinical studies suggest that chasteberry may be effective in reducing PMS symptoms in women, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. These studies include a 2001 study published in the British Medical Journal and a 2000 study published in the Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine. According to a 2005 article in the journal American Family Physician, the PMS symptoms chasteberry may improve include breast pain, constipation, anger and headache.
Fertility
According to a 2005 article in the journal American Family Physician, a study of women with problems conceiving suggested that women taking chasteberry were twice as likely to get pregnant than those taking a placebo. However, the journal article notes, the study was small, and the chasteberry product also contained other herbs. Still, chasteberry has been used for many years to promote conception.
Breast Milk Production
A 2005 article in the journal American Family Physician notes that low doses of chasteberry might increase milk production in lactating women by increasing prolactin levels, but the article's author, Dr. Beatrix Roemheld-Hamm, says that there's insufficient evidence to support using chasteberry to increase milk production.
Decreasing Sexual Desire
In the Middle Ages, according to the NCCAM, monks used chasteberry because they thought it decreased their sexual desire. The names of the tree and the herb are derived from that. It has been used through the years to modify libido, but according to the 2005 article in American Family Physician, there's no clinical data to support this use.
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