Herbs and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

7 herbs · The herbal teas · How the sources are checked

Herb	The evidence	Androgens	Insulin and glucose	Cycles	Hirsutism and skin
Spearmint	Lowers androgens in two small studies; hair growth not yet shown to improve	Free testosterone down (5 days; 30 days); total testosterone down at 30 days	Not studied	Not studied	Self-rated better; doctors’ score not significantly changed
Licorice	Lowers testosterone in small studies; raises blood pressure	Total testosterone down (healthy women; one PCOS trial)	Not reported	Less metrorrhagia with spironolactone	Proposed, not measured
Cinnamon	Insulin resistance improved in pooled trials; more regular cycles in one small trial	Testosterone down in one trial; unchanged in another	HOMA-IR and fasting glucose down in meta-analyses	More frequent cycles in one 6-month trial	Not reported
Chaste tree	Acts on prolactin; one placebo-controlled trial in PCOS	Not reported in the PCOS trial abstract	Fasting glucose and HOMA-IR down (one trial)	Menstrual frequency improved (one trial)	Hirsutism score down (one trial)
Saffron	Crocin, its main component, improved lipids, insulin, hirsutism and acne in two trials	DHEA-S and LH unchanged (crocin with metformin)	Insulin indices improved (crocin)	FSH improved (crocin with metformin)	Hirsutism score and acne improved (crocin with metformin)
Skullcap	No study in women; Chinese skullcap and its baicalin only in rats, mice and cells	Testosterone and LH down in rats (baicalin)	Rise in insulin and HOMA-IR held back in rats (baicalin)	Regular estrous cycles restored in rats	Not studied
Raspberry leaf	No study in PCOS found	No study	No study	No study	No study

1. Spearmint

   Lowers androgens in two small studies; hair growth not yet shown to improve

   The story begins in Isparta in south-western Turkey, where the local doctors suspected that the mint tea of the district lowered the libido. Akdoğan and colleagues gave 21 hirsute women, 12 of them with PCOS, a cup of spearmint tea twice a day for five days of the follicular phase: free testosterone fell and LH, FSH and estradiol rose, while total testosterone and DHEA-S did not change significantly. Grant then randomised 42 women with PCOS to spearmint tea or a placebo herbal tea twice a day for a month. Free and total testosterone fell and LH and FSH rose on the spearmint; the women rated their own hirsutism better, but the doctors’ Ferriman–Gallwey score did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.12), which Grant put down to a trial too short for hair. A 2026 review of plants said to alter androgens judged these human studies small and short, and found that an objective improvement in hirsutism has not been shown.

   The studies (3)

   • Akdoğan, M., Tamer, M. N., Cüre, E., et al. (2007). “Effect of spearmint (Mentha spicata Labiatae) teas on androgen levels in women with hirsutism.” Phytotherapy Research 21: 444–447. doi:10.1002/ptr.2074. Abstract read · the text read
   • Grant, P. (2010). “Spearmint herbal tea has significant anti-androgen effects in polycystic ovarian syndrome. A randomized controlled trial.” Phytotherapy Research 24: 186–188. doi:10.1002/ptr.2900. Abstract read · the text read
   • Sharma, K., Yakubu, J., and Pandey, A. V. (2026). “Analysis of androgen modulation by natural products.” Pharmacological Research 231: 108377. doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2026.108377. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for spearmint, with its history.

2. Licorice

   Lowers testosterone in small studies; raises blood pressure

   At Padua, Armanini’s group gave nine healthy women of 22 to 26 a commercial licorice preparation, 3.5 g a day (7.6 per cent glycyrrhizic acid), for two cycles: total testosterone fell from 27.8 to 17.5 ng/dL and came back when they stopped, and they proposed licorice as an adjuvant in hirsutism and PCOS. In 32 women with PCOS taking spironolactone, the same group found that adding 3.5 g of licorice a day offset the diuretic’s side effects: blood pressure, which fell on spironolactone alone, stayed level; a fifth of the women on spironolactone alone, and none on the combination, had symptoms of volume depletion; and irregular bleeding was less common. A 2026 Iranian trial gave 66 overweight or obese women with PCOS 1.5 g of licorice extract a day or a placebo, both with a low-calorie diet, for eight weeks; total testosterone, FSH, the LH/FSH ratio, depression, sleep and appetite improved more on licorice. Arentz’s 2014 review called the evidence for licorice with spironolactone in hyperandrogenism less robust than for the other herbs it covered.

   The studies (4)

   • Armanini, D., Mattarello, M. J., Fiore, C., et al. (2004). “Licorice reduces serum testosterone in healthy women.” Steroids 69: 763–766. doi:10.1016/j.steroids.2004.09.005. Abstract read · the text read
   • Armanini, D., Castello, R., Scaroni, C., et al. (2007). “Treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome with spironolactone plus licorice.” European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology 131: 61–67. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2006.10.013. Abstract read · the text read
   • Hooshmandi, H., Ghadiri-Anari, A., Fallahzadeh, H., et al. (2026). “Efficacy of licorice extract in combination with a low-calorie diet on sex hormones, sleep quality, depression, and appetite in overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome: an RCT.” International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine 24: 1–12. doi:10.18502/ijrm.v24i1.20992. Abstract read · the text read
   • Arentz, S., Abbott, J. A., Smith, C. A., and Bensoussan, A. (2014). “Herbal medicine for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and associated oligo/amenorrhoea and hyperandrogenism; a review of the laboratory evidence for effects with corroborative clinical findings.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 14: 511. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-511. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for licorice, with its history.

3. Cinnamon

   Insulin resistance improved in pooled trials; more regular cycles in one small trial

   In Kort and Lobo’s double-blind trial at Columbia, 45 women with PCOS took 1.5 g of cinnamon a day or a placebo for six months. Only 17 finished, but menstrual cycles came more often on cinnamon (a median of 0.75 a month against 0.25), and luteal progesterone in five of them confirmed ovulation; insulin resistance and androgens did not change in either group. In a four-armed Iranian trial (100 women, 83 analysed), 500 mg of cinnamon three times a day for eight weeks lowered insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and testosterone about as much as metformin did. Pooled, five placebo-controlled trials showed a lower HOMA-IR in women with PCOS (Heshmati and colleagues); an umbrella analysis of eleven meta-analyses in type 2 diabetes or PCOS found lower fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR and HbA1c (Zarezadeh and colleagues); and a 2024 meta-analysis of twelve trials in PCOS found small falls in weight (about half a kilogram), fasting glucose, and total and LDL cholesterol, with substantial differences between the studies. A 2022 review of supplements in PCOS counts cinnamon among those that may be beneficial, with the limits of the literature still to be overcome.

   The studies (6)

   • Kort, D. H., and Lobo, R. A. (2014). “Preliminary evidence that cinnamon improves menstrual cyclicity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 211: 487.e1–6. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2014.05.009. Abstract read · the text read
   • Dastgheib, M., Barati-Boldaji, R., Bahrampour, N., et al. (2022). “A comparison of the effects of cinnamon, ginger, and metformin consumption on metabolic health, anthropometric indices, and sexual hormone levels in women with poly cystic ovary syndrome.” Frontiers in Nutrition 9: 1071515. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1071515. Abstract read · the text read
   • Heshmati, J., Sepidarkish, M., Morvaridzadeh, M., et al. (2021). “The effect of cinnamon supplementation on glycemic control in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of Food Biochemistry 45: e13543. doi:10.1111/jfbc.13543. Abstract read · the text read
   • Zarezadeh, M., Musazadeh, V., Foroumandi, E., et al. (2023). “The effect of cinnamon supplementation on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes or with polycystic ovary syndrome: an umbrella meta-analysis on interventional meta-analyses.” Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome 15: 127. doi:10.1186/s13098-023-01057-2. Abstract read · the text read
   • Xiaomei, Y., and Xiaoyan, Z. (2024). “Effect of cinnamon as a Chinese herbal medicine on markers of cardiovascular risk in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology 300: 253–261. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2024.07.032. Abstract read · the text read
   • Alesi, S., Ee, C., Moran, L. J., Rao, V., and Mousa, A. (2022). “Nutritional supplements and complementary therapies in polycystic ovary syndrome.” Advances in Nutrition 13: 1243–1266. doi:10.1093/advances/nmab141. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for cinnamon, with its history.

4. Chaste tree

   Acts on prolactin; one placebo-controlled trial in PCOS

   Its place in PCOS comes from prolactin. A 2023 review in Frontiers in Endocrinology reports the proposed mechanism, diterpenes of the fruit acting on dopamine D2 receptors in the pituitary to restrain prolactin, and suggests it could have a role in mild hyperprolactinaemia, PCOS among the settings, while finding no large randomised trials. Arentz’s 2014 review of herbs in PCOS and its menstrual disorders found evidence of an effect equivalent to bromocriptine. The first placebo-controlled trial in PCOS itself, published in 2026, gave 60 women 5.8 mg a day of a standardised extract or a placebo for twelve weeks: the extract improved antioxidant markers, fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, HDL and LDL, lowered the hirsutism (mFG) score, made menstruation more frequent, and reduced the volume of the left ovary.

   The studies (3)

   • Puglia, L. T., Lowry, J., and Tamagno, G. (2023). “Vitex agnus castus effects on hyperprolactinaemia.” Frontiers in Endocrinology 14: 1269781. doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1269781. Abstract read · the text read
   • Arentz, S., Abbott, J. A., Smith, C. A., and Bensoussan, A. (2014). “Herbal medicine for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and associated oligo/amenorrhoea and hyperandrogenism; a review of the laboratory evidence for effects with corroborative clinical findings.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 14: 511. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-511. Abstract read · the text read
   • Hatami, A., Seidi, F., Khosrowbeygi, A., et al. (2026). “The effect of Vitex agnus-castus plant on some markers of oxidative stress, lipid profile and insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial study.” JBRA Assisted Reproduction 30: 70–78. doi:10.5935/1518-0557.20250165. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for chaste tree, with its history.

5. Saffron

   Crocin, its main component, improved lipids, insulin, hirsutism and acne in two trials

   The trials are of crocin, the main component of saffron, not of the spice itself, which is the stigma of the flower. In 50 women with PCOS, 15 mg of crocin twice a day for twelve weeks raised HDL cholesterol, held back the rises in LDL, triglycerides and cholesterol and in the inflammatory markers IL-6 and TNF-α seen on placebo, and improved the insulin indices (Rahimi and colleagues, 2022). Added to metformin in 50 women with PCOS and hirsutism, 15 mg once a day for twelve weeks improved FSH, the Ferriman–Gallwey hirsutism score and acne, but not fasting glucose, DHEA-S, LH, quality of life or blood pressure (Saghafi and colleagues, 2025). Extracts of the petals lowered LH and testosterone and reduced the inflammatory markers in mice made polycystic with testosterone. A 2024 systematic review of fifty studies of saffron and the female reproductive system concluded that it can ease polycystic ovary disease among other disorders, crediting crocin, crocetin and safranal.

   The studies (4)

   • Rahimi, G., Shams, S., and Aslani, M. R. (2022). “Effects of crocin supplementation on inflammatory markers, lipid profiles, insulin and cardioprotective indices in women with PCOS: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Phytotherapy Research 36: 2605–2615. doi:10.1002/ptr.7474. Abstract read · the text read
   • Saghafi, F., Javaheri, A., Mohammadi, F., et al. (2025). “Evaluation of therapeutic effects of crocin in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized double-blind clinical trial.” Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences 11: 69. doi:10.1186/s40780-025-00432-7. Abstract read · the text read
   • Moshfegh, F., Balanejad, S. Z., Shahrokhabady, K., and Attaranzadeh, A. (2021). “Crocus sativus (saffron) petals extract and its active ingredient, anthocyanin improves ovarian dysfunction, regulation of inflammatory genes and antioxidant factors in testosterone-induced PCOS mice.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 282: 114594. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2021.114594. Abstract read · the text read
   • Hasheminasab, F. S., Azimi, M., and Raeiszadeh, M. (2024). “Therapeutic effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L) on female reproductive system disorders: a systematic review.” Phytotherapy Research 38: 2832–2846. doi:10.1002/ptr.8186. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for saffron, with its history.

6. Skullcap

   No study in women; Chinese skullcap and its baicalin only in rats, mice and cells

   None of these studies is of the American skullcap of the herbalists, and none is of a woman. A search of PubMed in October 2026 for skullcap, Scutellaria, baicalin or baicalein with polycystic ovary syndrome found twelve papers; those that test the plant or its flavones use Chinese skullcap, Scutellaria baicalensis, or the baicalin and baicalein of its root, in animals or cells. In rats made polycystic with DHEA, baicalin lowered free and total testosterone, LH and FSH, held back the rise in insulin and HOMA-IR, and returned more of the rats to regular estrous cycles (Wang and colleagues, 2019). In another rat model it reversed the high androgens and restored the cycles, and in cultured NCI-H295R cells it lowered testosterone by suppressing the enzyme HSD3B2 (Yu and colleagues, 2019); a third rat study found free testosterone and LH lower (Xu and colleagues, 2023). Baicalein reduced oxidative stress and ferroptosis in the ovaries of rats (Li and colleagues, 2024); baicalin eased the fatty liver of a mouse model (Jin and colleagues, 2025); and the herb itself restored the gut flora of PCOS rats and reduced ovarian inflammation and insulin resistance (Pan and colleagues, 2026). The authors of a 2026 study in human granulosa cells warn that baicalin “should be viewed as a promising mechanistic lead rather than an established therapeutic agent,” with animal and clinical studies still needed.

   The studies (7)

   • Wang, W., Zheng, J., Cui, N., et al. (2019). “Baicalin ameliorates polycystic ovary syndrome through AMP-activated protein kinase.” Journal of Ovarian Research 12: 109. doi:10.1186/s13048-019-0585-2. Abstract read · the text read
   • Yu, J., Liu, Y., Zhang, D., et al. (2019). “Baicalin inhibits recruitment of GATA1 to the HSD3B2 promoter and reverses hyperandrogenism of PCOS.” Journal of Endocrinology 240: 497–507. doi:10.1530/JOE-18-0678. Abstract read · the text read
   • Xu, X., Xu, X., Wang, X., and Shen, L. (2023). “Baicalin suppress the development of polycystic ovary syndrome via regulating the miR-874-3p/FOXO3 and miR-144/FOXO1 axis.” Pharmaceutical Biology 61: 878–885. doi:10.1080/13880209.2023.2208636. Abstract read · the text read
   • Li, Y. Y., Peng, Y. Q., Yang, Y. X., et al. (2024). “Baicalein improves the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome by mitigating oxidative stress and ferroptosis in the ovary and gravid placenta.” Phytomedicine 128: 155423. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2024.155423. Abstract read · the text read
   • Jin, B. H., Xu, H., Zhang, Z. Y., et al. (2025). “Baicalin mitigates polycystic ovary syndrome-associated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by inhibiting the AR/SREBP1 axis.” International Journal of Molecular Medicine 56: 189. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2025.5630. Abstract read · the text read
   • Pan, Z., Zhang, C., Chu, Q., et al. (2026). “Targeting the gut-ovarian axis: Scutellaria baicalensis improves polycystic ovary syndrome by modulating gut microbiota composition and inhibiting the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.” mSystems 11: e0182525. doi:10.1128/msystems.01825-25. Abstract read · the text read
   • Ye, J., Zhao, X., Cen, S., et al. (2026). “ZBP1-driven PANoptosis in granulosa cells mediates follicular arrest in PCOS: integrated transcriptomic evidence and baicalin’s therapeutic potential.” Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology, online ahead of print. doi:10.1007/s00210-026-05689-9. Abstract read · the text read

   The entry for skullcap, with its history.

7. Raspberry leaf

   No study in PCOS found

   A search of PubMed in October 2026 for raspberry and polycystic ovary syndrome found no study of raspberry leaf in women with PCOS; the two laboratory papers it returned concern a different Chinese bramble, Rubus chingii, in rats. The human research on the leaf is all in pregnancy and labour, set out in the entry above.

   The entry for raspberry leaf, with its history.

PubMed, 10 October 2026: each herb with polycystic ovary syndrome; abstracts read for every study cited. The trials are small and most are short; none of these herbs is a treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome, and licorice in quantity raises blood pressure. A summary of research, not medical advice: anyone with PCOS should be under a physician’s care.