What can you say about black cohosh in your ads and on your site?

The library supports 4 wordings for black cohosh; the strongest is “Used in herbal medicine to help relieve premenstrual symptoms” (moderate, 40-2,400 mg dried root a day). Avoid wording that names or implies a disease, a drug or a treatment, such as “Treats menopause, or replaces hormone therapy (HRT)”.

Also called: Actaea racemosa, Cimicifuga racemosa

Reviewed 15 October 2026

Not legal advice. This guide shows the wording that published evidence supports at a daily dose, from the sources linked below; it is not a ruling on any claim. Your own product, its form and dose, and your own evidence still need to match the wording you use.

Supported wordings

What you can say.

Limited evidenceWording 1

Claims Facts

“Used in herbal medicine to help relieve symptoms associated with menopause.”

Daily dose	40-2,400 mg dried root a day
Support	Health Canada lists it, but ODS reports trials and guidelines that do not show it works for hot flashes.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older. Health Canada: 40-2,400 mg of dried root and/or rhizome a day, as dried herb or an ethanol or water extract.
Form	Dried root and/or rhizome, or its ethanol or water extract
Where sources disagree	Health Canada lists this use at 40-2,400 mg dried root a day. ODS reports that a review found no significant reduction in hot flashes and other vasomotor symptoms, and that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded in 2015 that the data do not show herbal supplements such as black cohosh work for them.
Sources	Health Canada monograph: Black Cohosh NIH ODS fact sheet: Black Cohosh (health professional)

Moderate evidenceWording 2

Claims Facts

“Used in herbal medicine to help relieve premenstrual symptoms.”

Daily dose	40-2,400 mg dried root a day
Support	Health Canada lists it as a herbal medicine use at 40-2,400 mg dried root a day; no other listed source covers it.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older. Health Canada: 40-2,400 mg of dried root and/or rhizome a day, as dried herb or an ethanol or water extract.
Form	Dried root and/or rhizome, or its ethanol or water extract
Source	Health Canada monograph: Black Cohosh

Limited evidenceWording 3

Claims Facts

“Traditionally used in herbal medicine to help ease nervous tension.”

Daily dose	40-2,400 mg dried root a day
Support	A traditional use in Health Canada’s monograph.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older. Health Canada: 40-2,400 mg of dried root and/or rhizome a day, as dried herb or an ethanol or water extract.
Form	Dried root and/or rhizome, or its ethanol or water extract
Source	Health Canada monograph: Black Cohosh

Limited evidenceWording 4

Claims Facts

“Traditionally used in herbal medicine to help relieve the pain associated with menstruation.”

Daily dose	40-2,400 mg dried root a day
Support	A traditional use in Health Canada’s monograph.
Dose details	Adults 18 and older. Health Canada: 40-2,400 mg of dried root and/or rhizome a day, as dried herb or an ethanol or water extract.
Form	Dried root and/or rhizome, or its ethanol or water extract
Source	Health Canada monograph: Black Cohosh

How strong the evidence is

Strong evidence: At least two listed sources support it independently at a comparable dose and form, and none disagrees.
Moderate evidence: One listed source supports it as an evidence-based use at that dose, and no listed source disagrees.
Limited evidence: The only support is traditional use, the sources disagree, or the source itself calls the evidence weak.

Wordings to avoid

What to leave out.

Claims Facts

Ingredient: Black cohosh

Wording to avoid	Reason
“Treats menopause, or replaces hormone therapy (HRT)”Presents the product as a replacement for a drug therapy.	Drug
“Relieves arthritis or sciatica pain”Names diseases.	Disease
“Treats PCOS or infertility”Names diseases.	Disease

Disease: names or implies a disease. Drug: names a drug or presents the product as one. Treatment: promises to treat, cure or prevent a condition.

Sources

Where this comes from.

All ingredient guides

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