---
title: Can chasteberry, a herbal remedy for PMS, cause a psychotic episode?
description: A report describes one woman who developed a psychotic episode after taking chasteberry for premenstrual syndrome. Because this is only one case, it cannot sh
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/drug-induced-psychotic-disorder-after-administration-of-vitex-agnus-castus-2019/
---

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- Can chasteberry, a herbal remedy for PMS, cause a psychotic episode?

Case report, 2019

# Can chasteberry, a herbal remedy for PMS, cause a psychotic episode?

A report describes one woman who developed a psychotic episode after taking chasteberry for premenstrual syndrome. Because this is only one case, it cannot show how often this might happen.

 Early or limited evidence

One woman who took chasteberry for PMS.

## What they did

Doctors described the case of one woman who took chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus), a herbal remedy, to treat premenstrual syndrome.

## What they found

The woman went on to develop a psychotic disorder that the doctors linked to taking chasteberry.

## What it means for you

This single case raises the possibility that chasteberry could, rarely, trigger serious mental health symptoms in some people. One case cannot show how common this is or who might be at risk, so it cannot prove that chasteberry caused the episode.

1

number of cases described

## About the study

Original title Drug-induced psychotic disorder after administration of Vitex agnus castus (chasteberry) medication to treat premenstrual syndrome: a case report Authors Firoozeh Farshchian, Omran Davarinejad, Serge Brand Journal Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo) Year 2019 Study design Case report What was tested Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus), a herbal remedy for PMS. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1590/0101-60830000000198](https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-60830000000198) Original abstract

Americanae nace como un proyecto conjunto que surge dentro de la Red Europea de Información y Documentación sobre América Latina (REDIAL), y que ha afrontado la Biblioteca de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID). Esta nueva biblioteca virtual hace más accesibles los libros digitales de tema americanista a los investigadores y usuarios interesados de cualquier parte del mundo.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Vitex agnus-castus (chasteberry)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-vitex/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)

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