Many women who suffer menopausal symptoms are seeking an alternative to
hormone replacement therapy after a recent study showed long-term use of the
most popular estrogen-progestin combination increased the risks of heart
disease, breast cancer and dementia.
The new study said interest in red clover extract stemmed in part from
reports that Asian women suffer fewer hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms
because their diets are rich in isoflavones, natural compounds found in soy
products and legumes such as chickpeas.
"Hot flashes are the primary reason that women seek medical attention for
menopausal symptoms," Jeffrey Tice of the University of California, San
Francisco, wrote in the latest study.
The results of the 12-week study appeared in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, which has previously published reports rebuking
the efficacy of other herbal remedies.
In this trial, 250 menopausal women experiencing at least five hot flashes a
day were given one of two isoflavone products made from red clover extract --
Promensil or Rimostil -- or a placebo.
All of the women experienced a comparable decline in hot flashes of between
34 percent and 41 percent, though Promensil, reduced them more quickly.
"Although the study provides some evidence for a biological effect of
Promensil, neither supplement had a clinically significant effect on hot flashes
or other menopausal symptoms when compared with placebo," the report said.
Novogen Ltd, the Australia-based maker of Promensil and Rimostil that funded
the study, said the findings overstated the "placebo effect." In a statement,
the company said previous studies showed women taking a placebo had symptoms
decline by no more than 20 percent.
But a Duke University reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Claude Hughes, said
in a telephone interview that the placebo effect can vary widely in such studies
of menopausal symptoms.
Hughes said he often starts his menopausal patients with diets rich in soy
foods, such as tofu, then tries isoflavone extracts, then moves on to hormone
replacement therapy.
"It's a matter of finding what works," Hughes said.
