Benefits
Menopausal symptom scores in midlife women
In a 12 week double-blind trial in 62 women, 500 mg a day lowered the Kupperman index total from 33.0 to 26.9 points, about 18 percent, while placebo barely changed (33.6 to 32.4); the difference between groups was significant. A later 71 woman trial reported a larger drop, but its placebo results appear mainly in a maker summary.
Vaginal dryness ratings
In the 62 woman trial, a 1 to 4 vaginal dryness rating fell from 2.39 to 1.71 on 500 mg a day for 12 weeks versus 2.32 to 2.13 on placebo, a significant difference between groups. This was a single questionnaire item, not a clinical examination, and the trial was run by the research group behind the blend.
Menopause-specific quality of life scores
In a 3 month study of 500 mg a day, the abstract reports an 18.8 percent improvement on the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. A maker summary describes it as placebo-controlled in 142 women and gives the overall score as 104.0 to 87.8 on the blend versus 103.0 to 102.0 on placebo, with the 18.8 percent figure in the sexual domain.
Bone turnover blood markers
In the 142 woman study, alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, blood markers of bone turnover, fell on 500 mg a day; a maker summary reports that these changes differed from placebo, and similar markers changed in a 71 woman trial. These are markers only: no trial reported bone density or fractures, so effects on bone strength are unknown.
Estrogen receptor activity in cell and rat studies
Lab and animal work, not human evidence. In estrogen receptor positive breast cells the blend raised estrogen-driven growth at low estrogen levels, and in rats with an ovary removed, 50 mg/kg a day for 8 weeks raised uterine estrogen receptor alpha about 2.8 fold, returning toward baseline about a week after stopping.
Mechanism of action
Estrogen receptor modulation (lab and animal data)
The research group behind the blend reports that it enhanced estrogen activity in estrogen receptor positive MCF-7 cells when estrogen was low and raised estrogen receptor alpha in the uterus of ovariectomized rats. They propose this lets the body use low post-menopausal estrogen more efficiently; that idea has not been tested directly in women.
Proposed IGF-1 and stress hormone links
In the 62 woman trial, serum IGF-1 rose from 133.6 to 146.9 ng/mL on the blend while placebo was unchanged, and a maker summary of a later trial reports lower cortisol and endothelin-1. The authors suggest these changes explain symptom relief, but they are blood markers, and no study has shown that they cause it.
Why a blend of two plants
The authors state that in their earlier screening, thistle or thyme extract alone showed no clear effect on menopause-related measures, while the combined extract did; those screening data are not published in detail. Separately, a thistle extract alone (a different product) raised estradiol and bone density in ovariectomized rats in another lab's study.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 500 mg MS-10 a day in hard capsules versus a dextrin placebo for 12 weeks; 66 women randomized (33 per group) and 62 completed; outcomes were the Kupperman index, a vaginal dryness item and serum IGF-1; no registry number is given; approved by the Chung-Ang University ethics committee; funded by Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs research grants, with MS-10 supplied by Daeho Yanghaeng. No author lists a Famenity affiliation in this paper, although the first author is listed with Famenity's research center in the group's 2016 J Med Food report; ethics approval for this trial dates from 2011 (Noh et al. 2016, J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr)
62 women aged 45 or older (or younger with menopausal symptoms), average age about 55, 31 per group; women using hormone therapy, or who had used it within the previous 6 months, were excluded.
The Kupperman total fell from 33.00 to 26.87 on MS-10 and from 33.58 to 32.39 on placebo; the percentage improvement, about 18 percent, differed from placebo (P < 0.001). Vaginal dryness ratings fell from 2.39 to 1.71 versus 2.32 to 2.13 (between-group P < 0.05), and serum IGF-1 rose from 133.60 to 146.86 ng/mL versus 151.35 to 147.04 (percentage change P < 0.05 versus placebo). No side effects were reported.
Combined report of estrogen receptor tests in MCF-7 cells, an ovariectomized rat study and a clinical study in which women took MS-10 for 90 days; the abstract gives no dose, group sizes or comparison with placebo. A maker white paper describes the clinical part as a 12 week randomized, double-blind trial with 300 mg, 500 mg and placebo arms. The first author lists the Famenity Biomedical Research Center as an affiliation and another author lists Naturesense, Inc.; the abstract does not state funding or a registry number (Noh et al. 2016, J Med Food)
Menopausal women; the maker white paper reports 30 middle-aged women across three groups.
The abstract reports that every Kupperman symptom and vaginal dryness improved significantly after 90 days of MS-10, without a between-group result. The maker white paper reports Kupperman scores falling from 25 to 20 on 300 mg and from 24.7 to 15 on 500 mg with no significant change on placebo. In rats, the blend lowered LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and changed bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin.
Clinical study of 500 mg MS-10 a day for 3 months, published with osteoblast-like cell experiments; the abstract does not describe a comparison group, and a maker white paper describes it as a randomized, placebo-controlled study with 71 women per group; funded by a Chung-Ang University research scholarship and a Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs grant (Crossref funding record); no registry number found; not PubMed-indexed (Noh et al. 2019, J Funct Foods)
142 women with menopausal symptoms, average age about 55, according to the maker white paper.
The abstract reports an 18.8 percent improvement in Menopause-Specific Quality of Life scores and significant falls in alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin. The maker white paper gives the overall score as 104.0 to 87.8 on MS-10 versus 103.0 to 102.0 on placebo (P = 0.204 within placebo), places the 18.8 percent figure in the sexual domain, and reports bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin changes that differed from placebo. No bone density result is reported.
Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with assessments at 4 and 12 weeks; the abstract gives no dose or group sizes, and the maker white paper reports 300 mg a day. Two authors list Famenity Co., Ltd. as their affiliation; the abstract gives no registry number (Noh et al. 2022, J Med Food)
71 women; the abstract calls them premenopausal, while the maker white paper describes pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women over 45.
The abstract reports about a 48 percent improvement in Kupperman scores and 36 percent in MenQoL scores with MS-10, without placebo figures. The maker white paper states that the Kupperman total improved more than on placebo at 4 and 12 weeks (P < 0.05) and that cortisol fell about 16 percent and endothelin-1 about 15 percent on MS-10. Estradiol, progesterone, FSH, LH, AST, ALT, creatinine, bilirubin, blood pressure and body weight did not differ from placebo.