5 Peruvian Herbs Women Reach for Around Their Cycle

Ask any Peruvian abuela about what to drink the week before your period and you'll get a list, not a single answer. She'll mention a tea her mother made, a bark her aunt swore by, and a leaf the lady at the Surquillo market hands out for cramps. Women's herbal blends in Peru aren't one secret plant. They're combinations, built over generations, that try to do three things at once: calm cramping, support hormone balance, and keep inflammation down.

This isn't a "miracle cure" post. We sell herbs. We also read the research and admit when something is mostly tradition with a few promising studies behind it. Below are five herbs Peruvian women actually use around their cycle, what each one is thought to do, and where the science is honest about being incomplete.

1. Femenina (the blend that pulls them together)

If you'd rather not buy four separate herbs and figure out ratios, Peruvian shops sell pre-mixed women's blends. Our Femenina tea is one of those: 25 bags built around Cat's Claw, Matico, Huamanpinta, and Manayupa. The thinking behind the recipe is straightforward. Cat's Claw (Uña de Gato) brings an anti-inflammatory backbone. Matico is the classic Peruvian "Soldier's Herb" used for wound healing and gynecological complaints. Huamanpinta supports the urinary and reproductive tracts. Manayupa is the gentle detox piece.

It tastes earthy. Not floral. If you like Yerba Mate or strong green tea, you'll be fine. If you like sweet chamomile, add honey. Most women we hear from drink it once or twice a day starting a few days before their period and stop a day or two after.

2. Maca (energy and hormonal support, not estrogen)

Maca is probably the most famous Peruvian root outside of Peru, and a lot of the marketing around it gets the mechanism wrong. Maca does not contain phytoestrogens. It's not acting like a hormone. The current best guess from researchers is that Maca works on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland (the master hormone regulators upstream) rather than the ovaries themselves.

A handful of small clinical trials, including a 2008 study published in Menopause, found Maca reduced perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms in women, including hot flashes and night sweats. Sample sizes were small. The effect was real but modest. Andean farmers in Junín have eaten Maca for centuries without a clinical trial, and that history is part of why people try it now.

If you're cycle-tracking, try Maca capsules at 1,500 to 3,000 mg per day, taken in the morning. Most women notice steadier energy first. Cycle effects, if they show up, take a month or two.

3. Aguaje (the phytoestrogen fruit)

Aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) is a swamp palm fruit from the Peruvian Amazon, and unlike Maca, it actually does contain phytoestrogens, specifically high levels of beta-sitosterol. In Iquitos you'll see women eating the fruit pulp by the bagful or drinking aguajina, a chilled aguaje drink. The Asháninka and Shipibo communities have used it for generations as a fertility and women's-vitality food.

What does it actually do? Beta-sitosterol is structurally similar to estrogen, so it can occupy estrogen receptors weakly. For women in the second half of their cycle (luteal phase) or perimenopause, that mild estrogen-like signal may help with mood swings, dry skin, and irritability. The research in humans is preliminary. The tradition is strong.

Read our deeper take on Aguaje capsules if you want the full history and dosing notes.

4. Manayupa (gentle detox + circulation)

Manayupa (Desmodium molliculum) is one of the four herbs inside the Femenina blend, but it's worth knowing on its own. In Andean folk medicine it's used to "clean the blood," which is the old way of saying support liver and lymphatic clearance. Women take it around their cycle to ease that heavy, sluggish feeling some experience the week before bleeding starts.

A few in-vitro studies suggest Desmodium has anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties. Like most herbs on this list, human trials are thin. The Andean practice of using it as a supportive, mild daily tea (not a heroic megadose) seems sensible based on what the lab work suggests.

5. Matico (Soldier's Herb)

Matico (Piper aduncum) got its nickname from a 16th-century Peruvian soldier named Matico who allegedly used the leaves to stop battlefield bleeding. The story may be folk history. The use of Matico for wound healing and heavy bleeding is well-documented in Peruvian ethnobotany.

For women, Matico shows up in postpartum recovery teas, in blends for heavy periods, and as a sitz bath after childbirth. The active essential oils (dillapiole, asaricin) have shown antimicrobial activity in lab studies. It's a workhorse herb in Peruvian women's medicine, less famous abroad than Maca but more commonly used at home.

A few honest cautions

If you're pregnant or trying to conceive, skip everything on this list except foods you'd eat anyway, and ask a midwife or doctor who knows herbs. Several of these (Matico, Manayupa) have traditional uses tied to bringing on menstruation, which is the opposite of what you want during pregnancy. Aguaje's phytoestrogen content also warrants caution if you have a hormone-sensitive condition. Cat's Claw can interact with blood thinners and immunosuppressants.

None of this replaces a conversation with a doctor who knows you. Tradition and small studies are useful starting points, not prescriptions.

Where to start

If you've never tried Peruvian herbs for cycle support, the blend route is the easiest entry. The Femenina tea covers four herbs in one bag, so you can see whether the general direction works for you before stocking individual capsules. If you're already taking Maca and want to add something targeted to the days right before your period, Femenina layers in without conflict.

Browse our full herbal teas collection for individual herbs if you'd rather mix your own blend.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Femenina Women's Tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.