Red Clover for Depressive Symptoms

Red clover may improve symptoms of depression and anxiety in postmenopausal women, researchers report.

Red clover is a legume that contains estrogen-like compounds called isoflavones. These isoflavones are often used to treat menopausal symptoms and high cholesterol and to help prevent osteoporosis.

The recent study included 109 postmenopausal women who were at least 40 years old. They were randomly assigned to receive either 80 milligrams of red clover isoflavones or placebo daily for 90 days. Then, after a seven-day washout period, the women switched treatment groups for an additional 90 days.

At the beginning and end of each treatment period, the researchers assessed depressive and anxiety symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Zung's Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS).

In the group that took red clover, total HADS scores decreased significantly by 76.9 percent (76 percent for anxiety and 78.3 percent for depression). SDS scores reduced by 80.6 percent.

In the placebo group, total HADS and SDS scores also decreased significantly compared to baseline, but only by an average of 21.7 percent.

Although these results are promising, additional research is needed to confirm these findings and to identify a potential mechanism of action.

For more information about red clover, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements database.

Comments

[Interested Student]

This is a cool thing to read about because I find myself very interested in treatments for depression that may not have been explored yet. It is not surprising that an herb that contains chemicals similar to estrogen can affect mood that significantly because we know that estrogen and serotonin are very closely linked.

[natural product fan]

It's true that red clover contains phytoestrogens and that they are similar to estrogen, but a rather large study (177 women) from 2004 indicated that red clover isoflavones (the part they think is responsible for reducing menopausal symptoms) had no estrogenic activity or antagonism. Based on this, I thought it sounded like it wouldn't work that well, so I looked further back and found that the other large study (246 women) found no difference between the two red clover supplements and placebo. All other studies involved fewer than 100 women, and none of them was longer than 16 weeks.

I think it is a good alternative to hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) if it works, but it sounds like we need more studies (of longer duration too) before a conclusion can be made.

[shiatsu sue]

Treating postmenopausal depression and anxiety with red clover, or any other natural source of isoflavones, seems like a research direction with huge potential. The sample size here seems small though.

Also, what is the purpose of making it a crossover study? I couldn’t follow from this description or the abstract whether the placebo effect was at all additive with the red clover effect in improving depression and anxiety scores.

[Prozac]

Just consider the amount of money spent on prescription antidepressants in this country. The potential here is incredible. I hope these findings pan out, and red clover becomes a blockbuster dietary supplement and a giant leap for natural medicines all around.

[JA]

It's interesting to see yet another herb being studied for the treatment of depression. I was also confused about switching the two groups and what that proved. Hopefully the herb has an ok safety profile, and we can look forward to finding out about its exact mechanism of action sometime soon in the future.

[STruong]

Recently, I read a study about the safety and efficacy of black cohosh and red clover, and the result of the study show that black cohosh and red clover does not have any effects on estrogen hormone. So, in my opinion, I don't think red clover can have any effect in treating depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women.

[Meredith L]

Well, it'd be nice if red clover became a blockbuster supplement for depression, but at the moment, it's only being tested in postmenopausal women. I think we're getting ahead of ourselves if we jump to using red clover in the general population. Also, what's to say this herb doesn't have a poor interaction profile? The interaction section of the Natural Standard monograph shows that there is concern over drug interactions due to red clover's similarity to estrogen as well as potential or unclear interactions of certain isoflavone components.

[MIA]

This is interesting, although there is not enough evidence for me to advise anyone to start taking red clover over his or her antidepressants. Also, red clover does not come without its own side effects, including an increased risk of bleeding and possible interference with HRT.

I am all for alternative remedies to pharmaceuticals; however, in disorders such as depression, I would be very cautious in recommending something that needs further studying. As a pharmacy student, if a patient read this article and was interested in trying red clover, I would have a very long counseling session with them. I would not want a depressed patient abruptly stopping therapy without speaking with his/her doctor and making sure that he/she knows all the facts about red clover.

[as_pharm_student]

I agree with the statements of concern here that people might rush into the use of red clover for depression rather than consulting a healthcare professional. Overall though, I’m reminded of how little is understood about depression. Even the SSRI antidepressant drugs, widely prescribed and with a mechanism of action that is at least somewhat known, have often shown equivocal efficacy in clinical trials. There is room for improvement in most, if not all, avenues of treating depression.

[Tim 4 MSU]

I like this study because I frequently get asked about postmenopausal/depressive symptoms at my community pharmacy. I think that this is a very interesting study with a decent study size (>100). Those taking red clover had there depressive/anxiety HADS scores reduced by more than 50% compared to placebo. I think future research should focus on a longer duration of therapy as well as determining the potential mechanism of action of red clover.

[c. dalton]

According to the Natural Standard database, there are actually a few integrative therapies/modalities other than red clover that can be used to treat depression. Music therapy, sage and St. John's wort all get a Grade A for treatment of depression! Red clover isn't on the list yet, probably because more evidence is needed.

[abaz]

One thing I'm a bit skeptical about with all antidepressants (medications and herbal supplements) is that the trials done are usually biased. I would like to see more numbers and possibly what the patient demographics were.

I definitely think that, in theory, an herb with the potential to decrease depressive symptoms would be good; however, I agree with past posts that I would like to hear more about interactions, side effects, etc., that are associated with red clover.

[Mary J]

My aunt had a difficult time going through her menopause; her friends told her several herbal products include soy, black cohosh, Evening Primrose oil and Red clover. Red clover seems to help with her depression and anxiety. It really calms her down and makes her more like herself.

[Erin O]

In addition to the isoflavones, red clover is also rich in many other nutrients, including calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine and vitamin C! It is used in many other health conditions. Since the isoflavones act like estrogen, people taking hormonal drugs (such as tamoxifen) or blood thinners should talk to their healthcare providers before using the red clover.

[EMS]

I think it's interesting that traditionally, red clover is used to feed grazing cattle and other animals. Along with isoflavones, red clover contains calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine and vitamin C. So even if the evidence doesn't necessarily support its use for depression, it's still a vital part of our ecosystem and has several benefits.

[Luba]

This is very interesting. Does anyone know what compound in red clover makes it a great anti-depressant? How do the side effects of the treatment compare to the side effects of treatment with standard anti-depressants, such as SSRIs? What are the depression relapse rates after red clover treatment?

[NU Rx]

I was intrigued to read about red clover for depressive symptoms on the NS blog. Prescription medications for depression have numerous side effects, and I think are often over-prescribed. I think its great that there may be a new natural option.

I did further research and checked out the Natural Standard professional monograph on red clover. I was excited to see that, in general, side effects are limited in regard to red clover. Theoretically, it could cause weight gain or breast tenderness because of its estrogenic effects.

However, one point that I did notice was it should definitely be cautioned in women who are pregnant or have the potential to be pregnant, as a study on animals showed that it may have abortificant properties. I'm definitely interested to see more studies on this topic.