The chronotropic effects of blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides, on frog hearts in situ and rat hearts in vitro

Abstract

Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a North American herb traditionally used for inducing labor. Case studies report the effectiveness of blue cohosh in inducing uterine contractions, but have also reported fetal cardiac complications due to overdose. Little research investigating such cardiac responses at an organ is available. In this study, blue cohosh treatments (30 mg) were administered to frog hearts in situ and rat hearts in vitro. The consequent changes in heart rate were compared to control treatments. In both models, the administration of blue cohosh resulted in a negative chronotropic effect when compared to the controls (P