Galactagogue
A galactagogue (from Greek: γάλα [γαλακτ-], milk, + ἀγωγός, leading) is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals.[1] It may be synthetic, plant-derived, or endogenous.
The most commonly cited galactagogues are herbal. The most popular of these are:
Others include:
- Anise
- astragalus root
- boza
- burdock
- nettle
- fennel
- flax
- soapwort
- vervain
- red raspberry leaf
- marshmallow (althaea) root
Herbal galactogogues are divided into those believed to also have a sedating action on the nursing infant due to their volatile constituents, which can be carried through the breast milk itself, and those seen as promoting milk production without directly affecting the content. This often seems to be linked to anethol content.[2].
The effectiveness of herbal galactogogues can be increased by also consuming marshmallow root, which increases the absorption rate of other galactogogues[3].
The most effective galactagogues are medications, available usually by medical prescription. These include domperidone and metoclopramide. Domperidone, a dopamine antagonist, is not approved for enhanced lactation in the USA.[4][5] It is, however, prescribed in the UK. Some drugs, primarily atypical antipsychotics such as Risperdal, may cause lactation in both women and men.
Most of those discovered have been found to interact with the dopamine system in such a way to increase the production of prolactin endogenously.
See also
References
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- PubMed Peer-Reviewed Article on synthetics
- New Zealand government website
- www.pfaf.org
- www.findarticles.com
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- ↑ Merriam-Webster: galactagogue
- ↑ Macintyre, A., The Herbal For Mother And Child, ISBN 1852302445
- ↑ Herbs for increasing breast milk supply
- ↑ Chantry, Caroline J.; Howard, Cynthia R.; Montgomery, Anne; Wight, Nancy (2004). "Use of galactogogues in initiating or augmenting maternal milk supply" (PDF). ABM protocols, Protocol#9. The Academy Of Breastfeeding Medicine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-28.
Supported in part by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services.
- ↑ da Silva, Orlando P. and Knoppert, David C.: Health and drug alerts: Domperidone for lactating women, Canadian Medical Association Newsletter SEPT. 28, 2004. Copy available as PDF
