Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) Last updated: Jul 17, 2008

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  Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)  
 

 

 
 

A common flowering herb that has traditionally been used to treat coughs and skin problems. The recommended dosage is 1 to 3 cups of tea, twice daily. There are no contraindications.

 
 

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) can help with the following:
 
 
Infections  Lyme Disease
 Red clover cleanses the bloodstream and is a good tonic.

Organ Health
  COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
 Red Clover tincture has long been a treatment for whooping cough and bronchitis.

Uro-Genital
  Female Infertility
 Red clover blossom may act as a female fertility enhancer. It contains several estrogen-like compounds which may promote fertility in estrogen-deficient women. [Duke, J. A. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs: 489. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1985]

  Menopausal Status / Issues
 Red clover extract (80mg per day of isoflavones for a 12 month period) reduced the number of hot flashes in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 30 women who had not had a period for over 12 months and were experiencing more than five hot flashes per day. [Reported at the North American Menopause Society 12th Annual Meeting, Oct 4-6, 2001, New Orleans, LA.]

However, a review of other studies did not support this finding. [Ann Intern Med 2002;137(10): pp.805-13]
 
 


KEY
May do some good
Likely to help

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GLOSSARY

Herbs:  Herbs may be used as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). Unless otherwise indicated, teas should be made with one teaspoon herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 to 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 to 20 minutes for roots. Tinctures may be used singly or in combination as noted. The high doses of single herbs suggested may be best taken as dried extracts (in capsules), although tinctures (60 drops four times per day) and teas (4 to 6 cups per day) may also be used.