Goat's Rue
HerbalAlso called · 4 names▾▴
Galega officinalis, Goats rue, goat's-rue, goat's rue herb
Herbal supplement (milk supply)
Herbs and supplements are not FDA-approved before sale. About these sources
- Other
Research strength: 1 / 5
MotherToBaby says information on most herbal products in pregnancy is limited, and its sheet does not name goat's rue. The audited LactMed entry discusses breastfeeding, not pregnancy. The sources and searches reviewed here do not provide goat's-rue-specific human pregnancy evidence. No first-trimester conclusion can be drawn from this evidence. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-14
Research strength: 1 / 5
MotherToBaby says information on most herbal products in pregnancy is limited, and its sheet does not name goat's rue. The audited LactMed entry discusses breastfeeding, not pregnancy. The sources and searches reviewed here do not provide goat's-rue-specific human pregnancy evidence. No second-trimester conclusion can be drawn from this evidence. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-14
Research strength: 1 / 5
MotherToBaby says information on most herbal products in pregnancy is limited, and its sheet does not name goat's rue. The audited LactMed entry discusses breastfeeding, not pregnancy. The sources and searches reviewed here do not provide goat's-rue-specific human pregnancy evidence. No third-trimester conclusion can be drawn from this evidence. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-14
Goat's Rue — Breastfeeding
Research strength: 2 / 5
LactMed describes goat's rue as traditionally used to increase milk, but says evidence for the herb itself is very limited. A 2026 review found low-certainty evidence for a milk increase from a product combining Galega with silymarin and phosphatidylserine in mothers of preterm infants; that result cannot be assigned to goat's rue alone. ABM says evidence for herbal milk boosters is inconclusive and does not recommend a specific product. LactMed warns that galegine may lower blood sugar; a laboratory study found enzyme-inhibition activity in Galega extracts but did not test people. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-14
Sources
- LactMed (NIH): Goat's RueUS government
- ABM Clinical Protocol #9: Use of Galactogogues, Second Revision 2018Professional society
- Cragg et al., 2026: Herbal galactagogues in mothers of preterm babiesUS government
- Zecca et al., 2016: Silymarin-phosphatidylserine and galega trialUS government
- Sukhtezari et al., 2024: In vitro antidiabetic activity of Galega officinalis extractsUS government
Pregnancy
MotherToBaby's general herbal-products fact sheet says information on most herbal products in pregnancy is limited; it does not name goat's rue. No goat's-rue-specific human pregnancy study or pregnancy guideline was identified in the sources or PubMed searches reviewed. The recent PubMed result was a 2026 systematic review of herbal galactagogues in mothers of preterm infants, not pregnancy evidence. No pregnancy outcome claim is made from the absence of data.
Breastfeeding
LactMed describes goat's rue as traditionally used to increase milk, but says the evidence is very limited. A 2016 double-blind randomized trial tested 5 g/day of a combination of silymarin, phosphatidylserine, and Galega in 100 mothers of preterm infants from postpartum days 3 to 28. Daily milk production between days 7 and 30 was reported as 200 mL (110 to 380) in the combination group and 115 mL (60 to 245) in the placebo group (Zecca et al. 2016). Because the product combined ingredients, this result cannot establish the effect of goat's rue alone. Cragg et al. 2026 reviewed 10 RCTs in mothers of preterm infants and found low-certainty evidence of a day-7 milk-volume increase for the Galega combination (mean difference 105 mL, 95% CI 27 to 183). ABM's 2018 protocol says evidence for herbal galactagogues remains inconclusive and does not recommend a specific product. LactMed also cites a 2026 case report in which goat's rue and torbangun were stopped after a slight rise in liver enzymes while the mother was using several treatments; the report does not isolate goat's rue as the cause.
Goat's rue is Galega officinalis. LactMed describes its leaves and flowering tops as containing guanidine derivatives, including galegine, which may lower blood sugar. A 2024 in-vitro study found enzyme-inhibition activity in Galega extracts, but it did not test a marketed supplement or people. The live entry names no brand or standardized formulation, so no brand-specific ingredient claim is made.
What was tested
The evidence concerns different exposures. LactMed describes an older single-herb infusion study and older extract studies with unspecified doses; the PubMed record for the 1951 study has no abstract, so its details were not independently verified. Other studies tested multi-herb teas or commercial combinations. The Zecca 2016 trial tested a 5 g/day silymarin-phosphatidylserine-Galega product, not goat's rue alone. MotherToBaby says herbs used in food preparation in moderation are not expected to be of concern, but that general statement is not specific to goat's rue. This audit found no study of ordinary food amounts of goat's rue. ABM and MotherToBaby describe possible dose variation or contaminants for herbal products generally, not a tested quality problem with a particular goat's-rue product.
Does clinical evidence support goat's rue as a milk booster?
- Source A says
- LactMed says no scientifically valid clinical trials support goat's rue for this use, although it summarizes older, poorly controlled studies. (LactMed (NIH): Goat's Rue)
- Source B says
- Cragg et al. 2026 found low-certainty evidence of increased milk volume by day 7 with a product combining Galega with silymarin and phosphatidylserine in mothers of preterm infants. The 2016 randomized trial studied that combination, not goat's rue by itself. (Cragg et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2026: Herbal galactagogues in mothers of preterm babies, Zecca et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2016: Silymarin-phosphatidylserine and Galega trial)
- Why they differ
- The later review evaluated a multi-ingredient product in mothers of preterm infants. It cannot isolate Galega's contribution, while LactMed's summary addresses goat's rue as an herb. The evidence and populations are not interchangeable.
- Other sources
- ABM's 2018 protocol says research on herbal galactagogues remains inconclusive and does not recommend one specific product. Cochrane's 2020 review found low-to-very-low-certainty evidence across natural galactagogues overall, rather than a goat's-rue-specific result. (Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine: Clinical Protocol #9, Second Revision 2018, Foong et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020: Oral galactagogues)
- What the evidence shows overall
- The studies do not establish that goat's rue alone increases milk production. The low-certainty combination-product finding should be described separately and should not be generalized to goat's-rue-only supplements or infant outcomes.
- ABM says to assess and increase the frequency and effectiveness of milk removal and use nonpharmacologic measures to increase milk synthesis. (Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine)
General research, not specific to pregnancy.
LactMed identifies a possible blood-sugar effect from galegine and advises caution with diabetes medicines. This is a potential effect; a clinical interaction study of a specific product was not identified. ABM and MotherToBaby describe general concerns about variable herbal-product doses and possible contaminants, not a finding about any specific goat's-rue product.
- LactMed says goat's rue contains galegine, which may cause low blood sugar, and advises caution for people taking antidiabetic drugs. A 2024 laboratory study found antidiabetic enzyme-inhibition activity in Galega extracts but did not test people. (LactMed (NIH): Goat's Rue, Sukhtezari et al., Food Science & Nutrition 2024: In vitro antidiabetic activity of Galega officinalis extracts)
- ABM cautions that herbal preparations can have nonstandardized doses, possible contaminants, allergy potential, and drug interactions. MotherToBaby also says ingredients and strength can vary among herbal products. (Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine: Clinical Protocol #9, Second Revision 2018, MotherToBaby: Herbal Products fact sheet)
- MotherToBaby: Herbal Products fact sheetTeratology serviceSecondary
- LactMed (NIH): Goat's RueUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2026-08-15
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine: Clinical Protocol #9, Second Revision 2018Professional societySecondaryIndependent check
- Foong et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020: Oral galactagoguesUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2020-05-18Independent check
- Cragg et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2026: Herbal galactagogues in mothers of preterm babiesUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2025-12-05Independent check
- Zecca et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2016: Silymarin-phosphatidylserine and Galega trialUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2016-06-01Independent check
- Nikolov and Avramov 1951: Plant preparations and lactationUS governmentPrimary
- Derdikman Ofir et al., International Breastfeeding Journal 2026: Panhypopituitarism case report and reviewUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2026-06-16Independent check
- Sukhtezari et al., Food Science & Nutrition 2024: In vitro antidiabetic activity of Galega officinalis extractsUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2024-08-22Independent check
Last reviewed 2026-10-14
Independent check 2026-10-14
Not yet clinician-reviewed
Ask your provider about your situation.