Dong Quai for Menopause Support

Research suggests that dong quai, when used alone as a supplement for menopausal symptom relief, has not demonstrated meaningful benefit in the available clinical literature. The evidence base includes one randomized controlled trial and more than a dozen reviews published between 1997 and 2025, and the overall direction is consistently negative for dong quai as a standalone intervention — multiple reviews found it ineffective for reducing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, or other vasomotor symptoms compared to placebo, and one 2007 structured review of 58 trials specifically concluded the evidence did not support its use. A 2013 mechanistic review offered a more tentative position, suggesting dong quai may influence serotonin signaling pathways in ways that could theoretically affect menopausal symptoms, and a 2025 narrative review framed it as a potential complementary option when paired with lifestyle interventions, though neither provided strong clinical effectiveness data. Adding to the uncertainty, a 2002 laboratory study found that dong quai stimulated breast cancer cell growth through non-estrogenic mechanisms, which researchers flagged as a safety concern warranting caution until more research is available.