Supplement
Pueraria mirifica is a plant from Thailand whose root contains phytoestrogens, plant compounds that can act on the body's estrogen receptors. With no single main use established, the best-supported finding involves cholesterol: in postmenopausal women, HDL, the "good" cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B both improved, though the evidence is limited. That work came from one small study of 17 women, so it says little about other groups and needs larger trials to confirm.
Sources: PMID 19060449
- Updated
- How we grade
- 4 studies cited
- Best evidence
- Grade C
- Conditions studied
- 4
- Outcomes
- 6
- Graded outcomes
- 0020
Evidence by condition
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-density lipoprotein (HDL) Small Improvement | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 1 study | 17 people | ||
Studies that measured high-density lipoprotein (hdl) | ||||||
| Apolipoprotein B Small Improvement | Improves (the measure goes down) | Small effect | 17 people | |||
| Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) | Improves (the measure goes down) | 17 people | ||||
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menopausal Symptoms | Improves (the measure goes down) | 1 study | 60 people | |||
Bone Health
- Bone-specific Alkaline Phosphatase: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone-specific Alkaline Phosphatase | Improves (the measure goes up) | 1 study | 51 people | |||
Studies that measured bone-specific alkaline phosphatase | ||||||
Vaginal Health
- Vaginal Dryness: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaginal Dryness | Improves (the measure goes up) | 1 study | 71 people | |||
Studies that measured vaginal dryness | ||||||
What the published studies found
1 automated reading
Body weight
The 2 studies read (240 people in all) mostly found an improvement in body weight. The evidence is limited.
2 studies counted of 4 read: 1 trial (240 people in the trials).
- Randomised trial, 2024; 240 people; sows with varying parities: improves.
significantly increased the daily body weight (BW) gain of piglets
Dietary Puerarin Supplementation Improves Immune Response and Antioxidant Capacity of Sows - Study, 2022; ovary-intact adult rats: no clear difference.
neutral effects on uterine, vaginal, and body weights
Assessment of 28-day oral exposure to Pueraria candollei var. mirifica (Fabaceae) roots on pituitary-ovarian axis function and selected metabolic parameters in ovary-intact rats
- Randomised trial, 2024; 240 people; sows with varying parities: improves.
Key findings
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL)Improves (the measure goes up)
- Apolipoprotein BImproves (the measure goes down)
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- Grade C
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Studies cited
4 studies from PubMed
- Pueraria mirifica phytoestrogens improve dyslipidemia in postmenopausal women probably by activating estrogen receptor subtypes
- Effect of Pueraria mirifica on vaginal health
- Effects and safety of Pueraria mirifica on lipid profiles and biochemical markers of bone turnover rates in healthy postmenopausal women
- Efficacy comparison of Pueraria mirifica (PM) against conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) with/without medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in the treatment of climacteric symptoms in perimenopausal women: phase III study