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Red Clover Extract May Lessen Depression and Anxiety

Austrian study finds that red clover extract may alleviate symptoms of depression  and anxiety in postmenopausal women.

Although study data pertaining to the effects of phytoestrogens in alleviating the symptoms of mood disorders is scarce, Markus Lipovac, from General Teaching Hospital Korneuburg (Austria), and colleagues have found that a three-month course of red clover extract alleviated symptoms of depression and anxiety among postmenopausal women.  The team’s study involved 109 postmenopausal women, ages 40 and over, and randomly assigned them to receive either a supplement containing 80 milligrams of red clover isoflavones, or placebo, for 90 days. Depression and anxiety were reduced by 80% among the women who received the red clover extract.

Markus Lipovac, Peter Chedraui, Christine Gruenhut, Ana Gocan, Maria Stammler, Martin Imhof.  “Improvement of postmenopausal depressive and anxiety symptoms after treatment with isoflavones derived from red clover extracts.” Maturitas, Volume 65, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 258-261.