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However, a number have been identified, including kaempferol, diosgenin (found in yam), apigenin (found in chasteberry), [1] [3] naringenin, and syringic acid, among others. [2] In addition, 3,8-dihydrodiligustilide from Ligusticum chuanxiong is a potent progestogen ( EC 50 = 90 nM), whereas riligustilide is a weak progestogen (EC 50 ≈ 81 μM).
The extracts of Chasteberry Vitex agnus castus improve premenstrual symptoms, especially premenstrual mastodynis (breast pain) which is caused by hyperprolactinemia and hence explains female infertility. In addition, low progesterone level is also attributed to female infertility.
Vitex agnus-castus (also called vitex, chaste tree / chastetree, chasteberry, Abraham's balm, [1] lilac chastetree, [2] or monk's pepper) is a plant native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex , which is on the whole a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants . [ 3 ]
Progesterone is the major progestogen produced by the corpus luteum of the ovary in all mammalian species. Luteal cells possess the necessary enzymes to convert cholesterol to pregnenolone, which is subsequently converted into progesterone. Progesterone is highest in the diestrus phase of the estrous cycle.
Progesterone withdrawal, on the other hand, is associated with a temporary increase in sodium retention (reduced natriuresis, with an increase in extracellular fluid volume) due to the compensatory increase in aldosterone production, which combats the blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor by the previously elevated level of progesterone.
It has been hypothesized that plants use a phytoestrogen as part of their natural defense against the overpopulation of herbivore animals by controlling female fertility. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The similarities, at molecular level, of an estrogen and a phytoestrogen allow them to mildly mimic and sometimes act as an antagonist of estrogen. [ 2 ]