Role of Vitex Agnes Castus in Managing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

The primary objective of the chapter is to identify the effects of Vitex agnes castus on hormonal imbalances in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Women are now commonly suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome. Among the entire population, only 6-8% of the women can identify this issue in their reproductive age. The primary causes of this issue include the problem in the level of female sex hormones and higher levels of androgens, the male hormones. In this study, the albino rats were treated with 8mg of estradiol valerate to induce their PCOS level. Additionally, it investigated the levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, Estradiol, Progesterone, and Prolaction. In this chapter, the increased levels of estradiol and decreased level of progesterone results in failure of ovulation which is one of the notable features of infertility have been explored. On the other hand, these altered levels are reversed in rats treated with vitex agnus castus fruit extract for the normalization of progesterone concentrations. Several groups have also demonstrated that vitex agnus castus extracts bind to the estrogen receptor and have weak estragenic effects, suggesting that chasteberry may also affect the estrogen/progesterone balance.

The final conclusion stated that PCOS is highly impacted by the levels of hormones and vitex agnus castus can generate the reverse adverse effects of hormonal imbalance for PCOS individuals.