Chaste Berry – Vitex agnus-castus

Common name: Chaste berry, Monk’s Pepper, Chaste tree, Agnus castus

Family: Verbenaceae

Botany: A small perennial tree (3-5 m), native to Southern Europe and western Asia, now widely cultivated in various regions.  The dark green leaves have whitish, soft haired undersides; they are large and compound with 5-7 elliptical leaflets and are held on a stalk. There are terminal panicles of slender lilac flowers. The fruits are black spherical berries about 5 mm in diameter; they contain 4 seeds which have a peppery flavour and a lemon scent.

Parts used: The seeds and fruits. In former times the whole plant was used, including the root.

Harvesting, cultivation and habitat:  The fruits are harvested when ripe in the autumn. The tree is cultivated from seed planted in the spring or autumn and is cultivated in subtropical regions throughout the world. It is a distant relative of Alyosia triphylla and Verbena officinalis..

History and folklore: Traditionally used to reduce sexual desire and libido. It featured in the Iliad by Homer as a symbol of chastity and as being capable of warding off evil.

Constituents Volatile oil including cineole, monterpenes and sesquiterpenes, Alkaloids including viticine, Flavonoids and methoxylated flavones, including casticin, Iridoid glycosides including aucubin, agnoside, eurostoside

Actions Prolactin inhibitor, Hormone regulator, Dopamine antagonist, Galactogogue, indirectly progesterogenic (via FSH), Anti-androgenic

 Traditional and current uses

• Insufficient lactation
• Secondary amenorrhoea
• Metrorraghia, lengthened or shortened cycle, especially with progesterone deficiency
• Latent hyperprolactinaemia
• PMT, especially premenstrual brestpain and fluid retention
• Menopausal symptoms
• Withdrawal of HRT
• Acne, in both male and female
• Ovulation pain
• Infertility due to low progesterone
• Migraine linked to the menstrual cycle
• Contraindications: Do not take in pregnancy. Overdose can induce formication (the sensation of ants crawling on the skin).

This herbal monograph is used with the permission of The Plant Medicine School.