Chaste tree has been used for thousands of years to suppress sexual desire and to assist in labor and delivery. You might take chaste tree remedies to ease headaches, but only if they are related to your menstrual cycle. Before you begin taking chaste tree remedies, consult your physician to discuss the potential side effects and drug interactions, as well as the correct dosage.
Identification
Also called monk's pepper or Vitex agnus-castus, the chaste tree is native to central Asia and the Mediterranean region, according to the University of Michigan Health System. The fruit, often called chasteberry, is typically used in medicinal remedies. Chasteberries are tiny in size, dark-brown in color and have a peppermint-like fragrance, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Since the times of ancient Greece and Rome, chaste tree fruits have been used to suppress sexual desire.
Function
Chasteberry contains flavonoids, volatile oils, iridoid alkaloids and progestins that appear to influence the release of certain hormones from the pituitary gland, notes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The constituents in chaste tree increases progesterone production by affecting luteinizing hormone (LH) production, explains the University of Michigan Health System. Chaste tree also seems to regulate prolactin secretion and stimulate estrogen receptors.
Uses
Most of chasteberry's medicinal uses relate to the herbal remedy's potential effects on female hormones. Chaste tree remedies are most commonly used to treat the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Specifically, chasteberry is used to treat cyclic breast discomfort associated with PMS, as well as PMS-related headaches, depression and irritability. Chasteberry may also help regulate the menstrual cycle and treat dysmenorrhea or uterine bleeding, notes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Other uses for chaste tree include treating menopausal symptoms, amenorrhea, infertility in women, PMS-related acne, endometriosis and menorrhagia. Chasteberry could also help support pregnancy and postpartum, notes the University of Michigan Health System. However, no widely-accepted medical research approves the use of chaste tree remedies to prevent or treat any health condition.
Dosage
To help treat PMS symptoms such as headaches, you could take 30 to 40 mg of chasteberry capsules each morning, notes the University of Michigan Health System. Keep in mind that you will likely need to use chasteberry for up to six months to reduce PMS headaches. Alternatively, you could take 20 mg of chasteberry extract up to three times per day or 40 drops of liquid extract each morning, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Ask your physician for the dosage that is right for you before taking any form of chaste tree or chasteberry.
Warning
Chasteberry may not be safe for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, warns the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. If you have a hormone-sensitive disease like breast cancer, you should not take chasteberry due to its effects on estrogen, cautions the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Chaste tree can cause side effects like skin rash and gastrointestinal upset, and the remedy could interfere with hormone therapies like progesterone and estrogen, notes the University of Michigan Health System. Chasteberry could interact negatively with birth control pills, drugs that influence pituitary-hormone production like bromocriptine and medications that affect dopamine receptors like haloperidol or chlorpromazine.
