Author(s):

Teresa Degolier, Nick Venosdel, Luke Widstrom and Josh Hulst

Abstract: Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a North American herb traditionally used for inducing labor. Case studies report the effectiveness of blue cohosh in inducing uterine contractions, but have also reported fetal cardiac complications due to overdose. Little research investigating such cardiac responses at an organ is available. In this study, blue cohosh treatments (30 mg) were administered to frog hearts in situ and rat hearts in vitro. The consequent changes in heart rate were compared to control treatments. In both models, the administration of blue cohosh resulted in a negative chronotropic effect when compared to the controls (P<0.0001). Bradycardia was observed in both cardiac preparations exposed to the same concentration that has been shown to effectively contract isolated uterine tissues from mice. These results further stimulate the need to understand how blue cohosh can be safely and holistically used without side effects in pregnant women.

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