In an opinion letter recently issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) on the herbal alternatives for HRT (hormone-replacement therapy) concluded that not only are they less effective than the regular treatment, some may actually be harmful.

Such news is not altogether bad because some HRT alternative like soy isoflavones is gaining significant credit.

The RCOG stated in the said paper that there are existing data to support that some of the better researched HRT alternatives like soy and red clover may well have some benefits, not only on symptom relief but also on the skeleton and cardiovascular systems.

According to Richard Warren, honorary secretary of the RCOG:

"The current interest and enthusiasm directed towards alternative treatments for menopausal symptoms is understandable, but the full risks and benefits of these alternatives are still unknown."

The RCOG paper summarized the alternatives found to have insufficient scineitfic evidence to support claims of relieving menopausal symptoms or of being able to equal the benefits of conventional therapies: St John's Wort, dong quai, gingko biloba, ginseng, liquorice and valerian root.

Some of these herbals are even associated with adverse effects and interactions with prescription medications such as warfarin, a blood thinner.

The paper concludes that the overall effectiveness of alternative preparations indicates a 50-60 per cent reduction in symptoms, considerably lower than the efficacy of traditional HRT, which has 80-90 per cent reduction in symptoms.

For soy and red clover however the paper reports that benefits have been reported from some studies, and notes that for soy a stronger benefit was observed for postmenopausal women taking soy isoflavone supplements rather than for soy products.

Read more at NutraIngredients.