Preparation: Chaste tree was historically combined with dittany. Chaste tree is said to be effective both internally and when used as an emmenagogual fumigant. Chaste tree is most effective if used in early pregnancy (up to 6 weeks). A decoction of chaste tree seeds can be used as a pessary for contraception.
Words to the Wise: Chaste tree may interfere with dopamine-receptor antagonist medicines. Chaste tree berries may have an effect on dopamine levels, so individuals who have Parkinson's disease or who suffer from depression should not take them. Because chaste tree can act like female hormones in the body, chaste tree berries could interfere with oral contraceptives or contribute to estrogen dependent cancerous cells. Breastfeeding women who use chaste tree may find menstruation starts too early after delivery, due to the activation of the pituitary. If chaste tree is taken to reduce PMS symptoms, it may take 6 - 12 weeks before results will be noticeable.
Watch for signs of Toxicity Specific to Chaste Tree: Itching, rash, gastrointestinal disturbances, racing heartbeat, and transitory headaches.
Chaste Tree Menstrual Promoter: 200 mg - 350 mg chaste tree berries, two to three times a day, for up to six days.
Cotton
My attention was called to the bark of cotton root by two or three planters in Mississippi, during the fall of the year 1857, and I witnessed its action in one case of abortion. A Negro woman collected some bark of the fresh root and some green seed (about a pint she told me) and made a quart of strong tea and drank about half of it. I was sent for by her master, but the drug had brought about such energetic pains that it was impossible to check them, and she lost her child.
-C. C. Ferguson in a letter to J.U. Lloyd, published in The Eclectic Medical Journal, 1860
AKA: Cotton root bark.
Parts Used: Inner bark (cambium) of the root, seed, and fruit.
Medicinal Properties: Emmenagogue, lactogogue, parturient, oxytocic, and vasoconstrictor.
Effects on the Body: Stimulates uterine contractions and stimulates the production of breast milk.
Abortifacient Action: Causes contraction of the uterus and interferes with the corpus luteum and possibly the production of progesterone.
Contains: Gossypol, resinous substance with phenol-carbonic acid, salicylic acid, betaine (abortifacient chemical found in seed), serotonin (abortifacient chemical found in fruit), and phytoestrogen beta-sitosterol.
Description: Cotton grows as an annual herb in cooler climates and as a biennial or perennial shrub 2 – 5 ft. (0.6 - 1.6 m) tall in tropical climates. Branching stems, hairy or occasionally smooth, bear dark green leaves that sometimes have a gray blush. Leaves are usually alternate, three lobed, and around 2 – 6 in. (5 - 15 cm) long. Cotton’s beautiful cup-shaped blooms, which open for only one day, have paper-thin cream to yellow petals with a purple to maroon center. After fertilization, three to four segmented seedpods (called bolls) form, each containing multiple seeds covered with grayish lint (cotton fiber). Upon maturity, the boll becomes dry, splitting from the tip and exposing the cotton fiber.
The use of cotton predates recorded history. More than 8000 years ago, the Aztecs grew cotton for textiles. Remains of the cotton plant have been found in Aztec burial mounds, which predate the Egyptian pyramids. Early explorers to North America recorded that the indigenous people were masters at weaving cotton textiles. Native American women of the Alabama and Koasati tribes utilized the medicinal properties of the cotton root. A tea of cotton root bark was used to aid contractions in childbirth, and in high doses cotton root bark was known to induce abortion.[202] Creoles in South America also used cotton root bark as a contraceptive.[203]
African slaves in the American colonies used cotton root bark to induce abortion, a knowledge said to have been passed from mother to daughter in Africa where the cotton plant is believed have originated.[204] Archeological evaluation of plant remains in African American slave cabins in the southwest United States revealed cotton root bark in greater amounts than what would be expected in historical written documentation.[205] Cotton root bark was used by enslaved African women for abortion with no notation of significant negative side effects.[206]
Some slave owners were known to rape slaves. Raping was even considered profitable, for any children that resulted from the offense would increase the number of slaves the rapist owned. Some slave owners found out about the use of cotton root bark for abortive purposes and subsequently forced their female slaves to drink an herbal decoction of the root bark of Viburnum prunifolium, which came to be known by the common name black haw. Viburnum prunifolium is a strong abortion and miscarriage preventative. Its forced use was intended to insure their slaves would carry pregnancies to term.
During the mid 19th century, women in the United States who sought out cotton root bark tincture at pharmacies were sometimes refused sale and instead ordered the tincture from a company in Canada.[207]
Herbalists today use cotton root bark to produce abortion, stimulate contractions, and encourage the production of breast milk. The cotton seed and root are used in the treatment of nasal polyps, uterine fibroids, and several types of cancer. Chinese tests on rats show that high doses of cotton root bark have an antiprogesterone and corpus luteum effect which can interrupt pregnancy.[208] Interference in the functioning of the corpus luteum interferes in the normal production of progesterone, and the uterine lining becomes unsupportive to the fertilized egg. Cotton is a uterine stimulant. It is believed that cotton root bark has the ability, as an anti-progesterone, to prevent implantation; however other scientific studies have not shown an anti-implantation effect.[209] Cotton root bark is believed to have fewer negative side effects when compared to many other herbal abortifacients.[210]
Gossypol, the dihydroxyphenyl found in cotton seeds and seedlings, is sold in China as a male contraceptive.[211] The toxic effects of gossypol are reduced by combining gossypol with iron salts, which bind to the gossypol, thus inactivating it.[212]
Gathering: Cotton is found growing wild on sand dunes and railroad beds (Caution: toxic chemicals in soil) in southern Florida and the Keys. Cotton is cultivated throughout the southern United States. The bark of the cotton root is gathered before frost sets in, sometimes as late as December in the warmer climates. The inner cambium layer is peeled from the root bark in long strips (1 cm wide). Fresh decoctions or tinctures are created immediately. The dried root is reputed to be worthless medicinally.
Preparation: Cotton root bark has the dual benefit of preventing implantation through an anti-progesterone effect and stimulating uterine contractions. Cotton root bark is usually given by itself as a simple either in the week before an expected menstruation or in the first few weeks after a missed period. Based on historical accounts, cotton root bark may be an effective abortifacient during the first trimester and possibly into the second trimester, as well. However, effectiveness is reduced and the risks to the woman attempting abortion are greater the later the abortion is attempted.
204
Charles R. Eckler, “A Contribution to the Pharmacology of Cotton Root Bark,”
205
Mark D. Groover and Timothy E. Baumann, “They Worked Their Own Remedy: African-American Herbal Medicine and the Archeological Record,”
207
American Pharmaceutical Association, National Pharmaceutical Convention, American Pharmaceutical Association Meeting, 1866.
208
Kee Chang Huang,
209
S.K. Garg, S.K. Saksena, and R.R. Chaudhury, “Antifertility Screening of Plants. VI. Effect of Five Indigenous Plants on Early Pregnancy in Albino Rats,”
210
G. A. Conway and J.C. Slocumb, “Plants used as Abortifacients and Emmenagogues by Spanish New Mexicans,”
212
Carl Djerassi,