Vitex - Herbal Supplement for Hormonal Balance

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What is Vitex used for?

According to herbalist and women’s health expert Dr. Aviva Romm, vitex has been used by Eclectic physicians as an emmenagogue, an herb that stimulates blood flow to the pelvic region and uterus and may stimulate menstruation. In traditional Persian medicine, vitex has been used to decrease breast milk oversupply.

What is Vitex agnus-castus?

What Is Vitex? Vitex ( Vitex agnus-castus) is a plant used in herbal medicine. Also known as chaste tree or chasteberry, it's often used to remedy women's health problems. Vitex supplements typically contain extracts of the fruit and/or seed of the plant.

Is Vitex a real plant?

Even though it has a long history of traditional use, it has only recently been validated by science. Vitex goes by many names: chasteberry, chaste tree, Abraham’s balm, and monk's pepper. The plant is found in Greece, Italy, and parts of the Middle East.

Why is Vitex called vitex?

Vitex was the name used by Pliny the Elder for V. agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry. As a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences, Vitex is one of several genera that were transferred from the Verbenaceae to the Lamiaceae in the 1990s.

What is a vitex plant called?

Many of the vitex plant’s common names refer to its common herbal uses—for example vitex is also named chaste tree and monk’s pepper. Other names for vitex include lilac chastetree, hemp tree, Indian spice, Texas lilac, Abraham’s balm, and chasteberry. Vitex tree leaves are aromatic palmate compound leaves, each containing five to seven leaflets.

How big does a vitex tree grow?

Although referred to as the vitex tree or chaste tree, the vitex plant generally grows as a sizeable bushy shrub. But in warmer climates, vitex can grow as a small multi-trunked tree. Typically, vitex bushes grow between 3 and 15 ft. (1 – 4.5 m) tall, and vitex trees grow between 15 and 20 ft. (4.5 – 6 m) tall.

Where does Vitex come from?

Vitex comes from a shrub found in the Mediterranean and Asia. The fruit and seed of the shrub can be used to make supplements. There are no other food sources of vitex. Vitex is sold as a single nutrient or in combination with other nutrients. It is most often sold in capsule or gummy form.

What Is Vitex

1. https://www.verywellhealth.com/vitex-what-should-you-know-about-it-89530
2. https://www.forbes.com/health/supplements/vitex/
3. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitex
4. https://draxe.com/nutrition/vitex/
5. https://botanicalinstitute.org/vitex/

Vitex Information

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitex
2. https://leafyplace.com/vitex-trees/
3. https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/conditions/womens-health/menopause/what-is-agnus-castus/
4. https://www.thespruce.com/chaste-tree-growing-profile-3269206
5. https://www.plantura.garden/uk/herbs/vitex/vitex-overview
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370779/