Table 1.
Details of the product, active ingredients, daily dose and cost per dose
| a. Products with multiple active ingredients | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product name/Manufacturer | Health Canada Licence Number | Ingredients active for menopause symptoms, amount per tablet 5 most common active ingredients in bold | Recommended daily dose (# of tablets, frequency) | Range of cost of average daily recommended dose a (CAD$) |
| Swiss Natural HRT® Regular/Valeant Canada LP/S.E.C. | 80038543 | Black cohosh (30 mg), chaste tree (100 mg), soy isoflavones (70 mg), wild yam (50 mg), burdock (50 mg) | 1, twice daily | $0.36-$0.93 |
| Swiss Natural HRT® Extra Strength/Valeant Canada LP/S.E.C. | 80019270 | Black cohosh (100 mg), chaste tree (200 mg), soy isoflavones (100 mg), wild yam (50 mg), burdock (100 mg) | 1, daily | $0.18-$0.47 |
| Swiss Natural HRT® Nightime/Valeant Canada LP/S.E.C. | 80002152 | Black cohosh (100 mg), lemon balm (300 mg), passion flower (150 mg) | 1, at night | $0.36-$0.47 |
| Estroven®/i-Health, Inc. | 80024706 | Black cohosh (40 mg), soy isoflavones (37.5 mg), calcium (150 mg), folic acid (400 μg), kudzu (100 mg), magnolia (15 mg), vitamin E (30 IU), thiamin (2 mg), riboflavin (2 mg), niacinamide (20 mg), vitamin B6 (10 mg), vitamin B12 (6 μg), selenium (70 μg), boron glycinate (1.5 mg), Chinese-date seed (120 mg) | 1, daily | $0.61-$0.86 |
| Estroven® Maximum Strength/i-Health, Inc. | 80032569 | Black cohosh (80 mg), calcium (138 mg), chaste tree (75 mg), folic acid (400 μg), green tea (60 mg), soy isoflavones (102.5 mg), vitamin D3 (25 μg), vitamin E (30 IU), thiamin (5 mg), riboflavin (5 mg), niacinamide (20 mg), vitamin B6 (20 mg), vitamin B12 (25 μg), selenium (70 μg), boron glycinate (1.5 mg), chromium (120 μg), L-theanine (50 mg), caffeine (49 mg), cranberry (25 mg) | 1, daily | $1.00-$1.17 |
| Life Brand™ Menopause Relief/GFR Pharma Ltd. | Not available | Black cohosh (20 mg), red clover isoflavones (42 mg), soy isoflavones (425 mg) | 1, daily | $0.33 |
| femMED® Menopause Relief/femMED Formulas Inc. | 80025767 | Black cohosh (40 mg), dong quai (125 mg), pomegranate (75 mg), damiana (75 mg), partridge berry (75 mg), motherwort (50 mg), schizandra (50 mg) | 1, twice daily | $0.70-$1.10 |
| webber naturals® FemmeCalm Menopause Formula/WN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 80046012 | Black cohosh (80 mg), chaste tree (80 mg), dong quai (100 mg), gamma-oryzanol (75 mg), hesperidin (30 mg) | 1, three times daily | $0.66 |
| MENOsmart™ Plus/Lorna Vanderhaeghe Health Solutions, Inc. | 80025898 | Black cohosh (80 mg), chaste tree (80 mg), dong quai (100 mg), gamma-oryzanol (75 mg), hesperidin (75 mg), sage (75 mg) | 2, morning and night | $1.10 |
| b. Products with single active ingredient | ||||
| Product name/Manufacturer | Health Canada Licence Number | Ingredients active for menopause symptoms, amount per tablet | Recommended daily dose (# of tablets, frequency) | Range of cost of average daily recommended dose a (CAD$) |
| up&up™ Black Cohosh/WN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 80007421b | Black cohosh (40 mg) | 1-2, daily | $0.24 |
| London Naturals® Black Cohosh/WN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 80007421b | Black cohosh (40 mg) | 1-2, daily | $0.27 |
| equate® Black Cohosh/Vita Health Products Inc. | 02238871 | Black cohosh (40 mg) | 1, daily | $0.12 |
| Holista® Black Cohosh/Holista Health (Canada) Inc. | 80010287 | Black cohosh (40 mg) | 1-2, daily | $0.07-$0.09 |
| Be.better™ Black Cohosh/WN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 80007421b | Black cohosh (40 mg) | 1-2, daily | $0.29 |
| Promensil® Regular Strength/PharmaCare Laboratories | 80015467 | Red clover isoflavones (40 mg) | 1, daily | $0.67-$1.10 |
| Promensil® Double Strength/PharmaCare Laboratories | 80016071 | Red clover isoflavones (80 mg) | 1, daily | $1.23-$1.33 |
| webber naturals® Soy Isoflavone Complex/WN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 80015647 | Soy isoflavones (50 mg) | 7, daily | $0.77 |
| Menoconfort Forté c/IRB Yves Ponroy Canada Inc. | 80021605 | Soy isoflavones (300 mg)c | 1, at night | $0.55 |
| i-Cool®/i-Health, Inc. | 80033608 | Synthetic soy isoflavones, genistein (30 mg) | 1, daily | $0.83-$0.87 |
| A. Vogel™ Menopause/Bioforce Canada Inc. | 80034857 | Sage (3400 mg) | 1, 1 to 5 times daily | $2.33-$2.50 |
Notes: aproducts without a range of daily cost were either only found in a single pharmacy or found in several pharmacies at a single price.
bproducts share the same licence number.
cMenoconfort Forté packages include a daytime NHP for “radiant skin”.