Chaste Tree Fruit

The berry of the chaste tree offers a variety of benefits and may help normalize hormones associated with menstruation and menopause.  Chaste tree berries may help stimulate progesterone. This is a female hormone that arises 2 weeks before menstruation. Chaste tree or Vitex is in the Lamiaceae family, which is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or sage family and has about 250 species. The species is native throughout the tropics and subtropics and is a genus of shrubs and trees that range from 1 to 35 meters tall.

Epimedium

Epimedium is a flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, which contains about 700 known species and includes trees, shrubs, and perennial herbaceous plants. Also known as barrenwort, bishop’s hat, fairy wings, horny goat weed, or yin yang huo, epimedium is an herbaceous perennial that may support healthy joints and decrease mental and physical fatigue.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba, or maidenhair, is a tree native to China that has a wide variety of uses and has been grown for thousands of years.  The leaf from the Ginkgo biloba tree is used in SomaDerm for its powerful antioxidants that aid in neutralizing free radicals.

Ginkgo is an herb used to treat altitude sickness, cerebral vascular insufficiency, cognitive disorders, dementia, dizziness/vertigo, intermittent claudication, macular degeneration/glaucoma, memory loss, premenstrual syndrome, sexual dysfunction, and is a vasodilator. These unique trees are large and tend to reach a height of 20–35 meters (65–115 feet).

Mucuna Pruriens (Velvet Bean Seed)

Mucuna Pruriens seeds are a rich source of L-dopa and its metabolites, which include epinephrine and norepinephrine. An increase in dopamine levels in the brain following supplementation with Mucuna Pruriens may support the activation of sexual behavior as well as increase plasma testosterone levels. Mucuna Pruriens or Velvet Bean Seed, also known as monkey tamarind, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean, is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia. The plant of the velvet bean is an annual climbing shrub with long vines that can reach over 15 meters (50 feet) in length. The seeds offer a variety of benefits, including that they may help improve joint health.

Wild Yam Root

The unique root of this variable plant has been shown to possibly aid in the maintenance of and production of healthy levels of estrogen and DHEA. Wild yam root contains diosgenin. It’s a plant steroid that scientists can manipulate to produce steroids, such as progesterone, estrogen, cortisone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which are then used for supplementation and medical purposes. Advocates assert that wild yam root has benefits similar to those offered by these steroids in your body, providing a natural alternative to estrogen therapy or progesterone creams.