Red Clover Extract and Fertility

[Thebazile78]

Hey Doc!

I'm taking a multivitamin for the past year and change because my doctor and I talked about some "planning to get pregnant in the next 2 years" nutrition issues. She recommended that I make sure I'm getting my 400mcg of folic acid starting ASAP, in addition to ensuring that I'm getting adequate calcium & vitamin D, etc., so she recommended a multivitamin over a folic acid supplement. The one that I found didn't upset my system contains some herbal extracts, most of which I've either Googled or taken in the past so I have no problems with them, except for one: red clover blossom extract.

Now, according to the multi and the subsequent Googling for its effects, red clover extract is usually taken for "reproductive health" benefits, but some of the possible side-effects are a bit eyebrow-raising, as they include a risk of infertility as observed in animals with diets high in red clover.

As herbal supplements & other homeopathic remedies aren't regulated by the FDA, they usually aren't tested for adverse effects until they've already caused a problem (see ephedra/phen fen)

Do you have any information (or good sources) for me to figure out whether or not the red clover extract is doing more harm than good? No rush, as I'm planning on switching multivitamins anyway for other reasons (too bad; I seem to tolerate it pretty well)

[Dr Steve]

Do you have any information (or good sources) for me to figure out whether or not the red clover extract is doing more harm than good? No rush, as I'm planning on switching multivitamins anyway for other reasons (too bad; I seem to tolerate it pretty well)

I think the whole red clover extract thing comes from the idea that sheep that ate red clover silage seemed to have fewer lambs than those that didn't eat the stuff. I couldn't find a single human study on red clover extract in the literature.

Honestly, a prenatal vitamin should be all you need. Folic acid has been proven to decrease neural tube disorders. Red clover's isoflavones are concentrated in sheep reproductive organs...who knows what the hell its doing?

I'm conservative on this kind of thing. If I don't know what something is doing, or if there's evidence that that something is doing something good, I tend to avoid it.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

your pal,


Steve

[Dr Steve]

here's an animal study I found. This is the kind of stuff you have to plow through to try to make sense out of such things:

Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008 Aug 15;476(2):205-10. Epub 2008 May 14.

Tissue distribution of isoflavones in ewes after consumption of red clover
silage.

Urpi-Sarda M, Morand C, Besson C, Kraft G, Viala D, Scalbert A, Besle JM, Manach
C.

Nutrition and Food Science Department, XaRTA, Pharmacy Faculty, University of
Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.

When discovered in the 50's, isoflavones were suspected to provoke infertility
syndrome in sheep grazing on clover. Many others effects of these phytoestrogens
have been documented afterwards. To determine the distribution of isoflavone
metabolites in ewe tissues and look for a link with their physiological impact,
two ewes were fed a diet containing 50% red clover silage (variety Pawera) for
one month with a daily intake of 157.6 mg/kg bw of total isoflavones. Only
aglycones were fed due to the fermentation stage of the silage. At the sacrifice,
isoflavone metabolites and aglycones were analyzed in blood, liver, kidney, lung,
heart, muscle, ovaries, uterus, mammary glands, suprarenal glands, thymus, aorta,
thyroid, pituitary gland, cerebellum, olfactory lobes, and brain hemispheres
using HPLC-Coularray and LC-MS-MS. The major compounds recovered in tissues were
equol and daidzein, present as glucuronides. Kidney concentrations were 10-fold
higher than in other tissues. Penetration in brain was very limited. Reproductive
organs contained higher concentrations of isoflavones than heart, muscle, or
thymus. Distribution of isoflavones in ewe tissues is unequal and may reflect
specific impact in some target tissues.

[Thebazile78]

Thanks Doc.

At the level it was included in the supplement (25 mg), it doesn't seem to have a quantifiable effect, but it's good to know that it's a phytoestrogen! There are mixed opinions out there of the risk/benefit ratio of phytoestrogens in younger, non-menopausal women, mostly associated with soy foods and supplements.

[Dr Steve]

Thanks Doc.

At the level it was included in the supplement (25 mg), it doesn't seem to have a quantifiable effect, but it's good to know that it's a phytoestrogen! There are mixed opinions out there of the risk/benefit ratio of phytoestrogens in younger, non-menopausal women, mostly associated with soy foods and supplements.

ha, every time I look something new up, it's a stupid phytoestrogen!

Anyway, good luck with it!


So are you really Sheepy's sister? I've met him several times but you've never been around. I must say I'm impressed with your knowledge! :smile:

your pal,


steve

[Thebazile78]

ha, every time I look something new up, it's a stupid phytoestrogen!

Anyway, good luck with it!

Thanks again.

I really do like to be better informed than the average person.


So are you really Sheepy's sister? I've met him several times but you've never been around. I must say I'm impressed with your knowledge! :smile:

your pal,


steve

Yes, I am really Sheepy's sister. He's my favorite sibling. (I'm 6 years and one brother older than Sheepy and I know, when it comes to siblings and children, you're not supposed to have favorites, but sometimes you just can't help it.)

The only reason I haven't visited the studio is because I'm pretty sure it'd embarrass him if I were to come in. (This is OK by me because, as far as I'm concerned, I'm radio cancer.)