Start with an ingredient. Or start with the question.

Ashwagandha

Withania somnifera

The human evidence is more interesting than a simple yes or no. Five small sleep trials produced a favorable pooled signal. A separate stress review found lower cortisol but no statistically significant improvement in perceived stress.

Black cohosh

Actaea racemosa

The evidence is not one tidy answer. A newer review reported improvement in some menopausal symptoms, while an earlier Cochrane review found no significant advantage for hot-flush frequency or overall symptom scores. We are keeping both visible while overlap and product differences are checked.

Broadleaf plantain

Plantago major

Broadleaf plantain is the common lawn and path-side plant Plantago major, not the banana-like food crop. The reviewed cards below concern specific standardized topical formulations used in clinical wound care. They do not establish that a fresh leaf, homemade poultice, seed preparation, or unspecified extract has the same effect.

Butterbur

Petasites hybridus

A named processed root extract showed a dose-specific migraine-prevention signal in one randomized trial. That result cannot be separated from butterbur's central safety boundary: the raw plant can contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Chaga

Inonotus obliquus

Chaga has a large reputation and a much smaller human evidence base. The sources reviewed discuss laboratory and animal findings, but we did not identify convincing human clinical efficacy evidence for treating a health condition.

Cordycepin

This ingredient appears in 1 reviewed research record.

Cranberry

Vaccinium macrocarpon

Cranberry is a good test of whether an evidence page can resist a slogan. A large review found a preventive signal for women with recurrent UTIs, but not for every population. It studied prevention with juices, tablets, capsules, and powders, not treatment of an infection that is already present.

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

Dandelion has a long history of food and traditional use, but human research is sparse. NCCIH says there is no compelling scientific evidence supporting dandelion for any health condition.

Elderberry

Sambucus nigra

A small clinical literature has examined short-term processed elderberry products after respiratory symptoms begin. That does not establish prevention, a general immune boost, or a treatment for COVID-19.

European goldenrod

Solidago virgaurea

Goldenrod is a common name shared by many species. This profile is only for European goldenrod, Solidago virgaurea. The European Medicines Agency has a traditional-use monograph for its dried flowering parts; that regulatory history is not the same as convincing clinical evidence.

Feverfew

Tanacetum parthenium

Feverfew has been studied for migraine prevention, but the trials are small and use different plants, preparations, and amounts. The mixed evidence is more useful than a blanket works-or-doesn't label.

Garlic

Allium sativum

Garlic can mean food, powder, aged extract, mouthwash, fresh topical use, or an isolated compound. Those are different exposures. The reviewed cards below cover aged-garlic preparations and garlic-based mouthwash without transferring those findings to ordinary food use, raw topical garlic, or systemic infection treatment.

Ginger

Zingiber officinale

Ginger has a broad research literature, but the result depends on the problem being studied. Our first queue focuses on pregnancy-related nausea and keeps supplement trials separate from ginger used in food or tea.

Green tea

Camellia sinensis

A meta-analysis that pooled green tea drinks and extracts found a small average drop in LDL cholesterol and no significant change in HDL. Matcha is powdered whole leaf, but direct human evidence for matcha-specific health outcomes remains limited. Neither finding shows that green tea prevents heart attacks or strokes.

Horse chestnut

Aesculus hippocastanum

The clinical question is about processed horse-chestnut seed extract for chronic venous insufficiency, not about eating the plant. That preparation boundary is more important than the familiar name.

Lion's Mane

This ingredient appears in 1 reviewed research record.

Maitake

This ingredient appears in 2 reviewed research records.

Milk thistle

Silybum marianum

Milk thistle is heavily promoted for the liver, so the first queue starts with two rigorous silymarin trials that did not show the hoped-for benefit in their studied liver-disease settings. Those results are being reviewed before a detailed card is published.

Peppermint

Mentha × piperita

Peppermint tea and oral peppermint-oil products are different exposures. The reviewed evidence card covers oil formulations used in IBS trials. It found a symptom signal and more adverse events, while rating the evidence very low quality.

Psyllium

Plantago ovata

The first psyllium queue looks at gel-forming husk fiber in lipid and blood-sugar trials. It does not treat every Plantago product, extract, capsule, or combination laxative as the same thing.

Reishi

This ingredient appears in 2 reviewed research records.

Saw palmetto

Serenoa repens

Saw palmetto is widely sold for prostate symptoms, but the clearest review result is negative. Used alone, it produced little to no improvement in urinary symptoms or quality of life compared with placebo.

Shiitake

This ingredient appears in 1 reviewed research record.

St. John's wort

Hypericum perforatum

Short trials found that some St. John's wort extracts had results similar to the SSRIs used as comparators for mild-to-moderate depression. The interaction problem is just as important as that signal: this plant can change how many medicines work.

Turkey Tail

This ingredient appears in 6 reviewed research records.

Turmeric

Curcuma longa

A review of short knee-osteoarthritis trials found a pain signal for turmeric or curcumin products. The products were not one thing: culinary turmeric, concentrated curcuminoids, piperine combinations, and enhanced-absorption formulations should not be treated as equivalents.

Valerian

Valeriana officinalis

Valerian is widely sold for sleep, but the evidence is inconsistent and preparations vary. The current queue is built to preserve that uncertainty instead of turning popularity into proof.