What Is Qualia Perimenopause?

Qualia Perimenopause brings together traditional botanicals and modern science to help women thrive through perimenopause. It is a blend of 7 science-backed ingredients — menopause support botanicals, an adaptogenic herb, a herbal tonic, a postbiotic, an antioxidant, and a healthy estrogen metabolism support bioactive — designed to comprehensively address the many challenges of the menopausal transition. 

The ingredients in Qualia Perimenopause work across hormonal balance, the body's natural temperature regulation, the stress response, and the gut-brain axis to help women move through perimenopause with greater harmony, calm, restfulness, and physical and mental vitality.*

Why did we create Qualia Perimenopause? Because we know that perimenopause can be one of the most demanding times in women's lives. The transition into menopause is a natural process, but it’s a very impactful biological shift that affects women physically, mentally, and emotionally. We wanted to support women through this massive change and help make it smoother. 

During the development of Qualia Perimenopause, we researched and evaluated over 70 ingredients addressing multiple aspects of perimenopause. We ended up narrowing it down to a selection of seven premium ingredients that we believe make the best blend to comprehensively support relief from perimenopause burden and help women to remain vibrant throughout this process.*

Before I tell you more about the product, let me tell you a bit about what exactly is perimenopause and what happens in women’s bodies as they go through the menopausal transition.

Menopause—the natural end of female reproductive function—is caused by a decline in ovarian function and estrogen levels with aging, which results in the cessation of ovulation and menstruation [1]. 

But menopause is not a switch that's suddenly flipped; it’s the end of a gradual process that begins several years earlier, as estrogen levels first start to decline. This period of natural transition into menopause, beginning with the onset of irregular menstrual cycles, is known as perimenopause, or menopausal transition [2]. 

Menopause is said to have happened when there has been no menstruation for at least 12 consecutive months. After that, women start their postmenopausal years [3]. 

The menopausal transition usually lasts from 2 to 8 years, occurring most commonly between the ages of 45-55, though timing is highly variable and it can start earlier [4]. For many women, perimenopause is associated with physical, mental, and emotional manifestations that develop gradually. 

It is estimated that 50–75% of women experience menopause signs during perimenopause that often last into postmenopause [5–8], but the timing, duration, and type of changes can vary widely and be experienced very differently by each person. 

These signs develop because estrogen has many functions that go way beyond reproduction. Estrogen acts by activating specialized proteins called estrogen receptors that can influence cellular activities. These receptors are present in every major organ and system of the body, including the brain, which means that, when estrogen levels decline, all of those systems can potentially be affected [9]. 

This results in a very diverse set of symptoms that includes hot flashes and night sweats, sleep disturbances, forgetfulness or memory problems, low mood, stress, joint and muscular discomfort, and changes in sexual function, metabolism, skin appearance and texture, and many others [8,10,11]. 

A lot of the burden of perimenopause comes from symptoms associated with the brain, which can also be affected by lower estrogen levels [9,12]. A key effect of estrogen decline is changes in thermoregulation (i.e., the maintenance of body temperature) by the brain, more specifically, by the hypothalamus [13]. These changes are believed to underlie hot flashes and night sweats. 

Estrogen decline can influence neurological processes that lead to a reduction in what is known as the thermoneutral zone of the body, i.e., the range of ambient temperatures where the body can maintain its core temperature simply by adjusting heat loss through skin blood flow. 

This reduction means that even minor increases in core body temperature can trigger an excessive thermoregulatory reaction and promote heat dissipation by peripheral vasodilation and sweating, which is experienced as a hot flash [11,14,15]. 

Hot flashes are the most well-known and common complaints of perimenopause—they’re emblematic signs that menopause is coming. For some women, hot flashes are the only signs of perimenopause, but most often, hot flashes are accompanied by other manifestations, such as brain fog, poor sleep, mood changes, and stress [11,12]. 

And these are all manifestations that can build on each other. For example, if you have hot flashes at night, you won’t sleep as well, and if you don’t sleep well, your memory and mood and how you cope with stress may be affected. So these manifestations can really start to pile on and have a huge impact on daily life. 

In addition, perimenopause typically hits at a stage in life when women are often juggling many other personal and professional challenges. All of these challenges can build on each other and make this stage in life extremely demanding. 

The thing that’s tricky about perimenopause, is that memory issues, sleep disruption, low mood, and difficulty coping with stress can easily be disregarded and attributed to something else. That’s certainly possible, as work-life demands and social expectations women have to deal with can easily disrupt physical and mental health. However, there is a high likelihood that the many physiological changes women’s bodies go through at this stage in life may be driving, or at least aggravating, those issues. Most likely, it’s a two-way stream.

But demanding as it may be, menopause is still a natural process and an important milestone in women’s lives. Therefore, our goal when designing this product was not to try to override or delay it, but rather to acknowledge and understand the difficulties that come with it and create a product that may help to support it in a way that makes it less burdensome. 

We wanted to help women face this milestone feeling steady and grounded by addressing different sides of perimenopause.* It was with that goal in mind that we chose the ingredients in Qualia Perimenopause. So let me tell you a bit about our ingredients: what they are, why we chose them, and how they can help.

Research To Support The Ingredients in Qualia Perimenopause

Don’t just take our word for it. Below are the reported conclusions from scientific journals highlighting some of the Qualia Perimenopause ingredients, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Qualia Perimenopause Ingredients

Xeya™ Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) Root Extract

Qualia Perimenopause contains a few ingredients that bridge traditional use and modern science; Shatavari is one of them. Personally, the more I learn about it and its traditional uses, the more surprised I am that Shatavari is not more popular in the West. Shatavari has been slowly gaining recognition, but I think it is still to get the attention and credit it deserves. We are very excited about having it in this product.

Shatavari is the dried root of Asparagus racemosus, a climbing plant common throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It is among the foremost herbs in Ayurveda, where it’s classified as a rasayana (rejuvenative) and traditionally used to support women's health across the lifespan, with documented use in classical texts spanning more than 2,000 years [16,17]. 

The  word Shatavari derives from Sanskrit (śatāvarī) and is interpreted in a couple of different ways: "she who has a hundred roots," a reference to the plant's dense cluster of tuberous roots, and the more popular and colorful "she who possesses a hundred husbands," a reference to the plant's reputation as a female reproductive and fertility tonic.

Shatavari has several biological activities that are relevant to human health, such as antioxidant activity, immune support, and support of cardiovascular, metabolic, and brain health [17,18].* The main bioactives of the dried root are shatavarins, which belong to a class of compounds called steroidal saponins. 

Shatavarins have a specific property that is particularly relevant to women’s health: they interact with estrogen receptors, the cellular structures through which estrogen exerts its biological actions, and help to support a balanced estrogen receptor activity [17,18]. 

By doing so, Shatavari supports a balanced hormonal transition through perimenopause and helps to reduce many common manifestations of perimenopause [19].* This is the key reason why we included it in our product.   

In addition, Shatavari acts as an adaptogen, meaning it supports balanced stress responses (similar to what Ashwagandha does, for example) [20,21].* This was another major reason to add it to our formula, hoping to help women to better cope with stress in this demanding time in life. 

Given its properties, it’s not surprising that Shatavari has traditionally been so valued to support women's health throughout life and that it’s a great fit for a perimenopause product. It’s an ancient adaptogen backed by modern clinical research.

We chose Xeya™ because it's a clinically-studied, highly standardized form of this ancient herb. It is standardized to not less than 15% shatavarins, which lets us deliver the active compounds at a low, precise amount of the extract. 

Xeya™ has been studied specifically in perimenopausal women; in that placebo-controlled study, it supported a comfortable menopause transition, including temperature comfort, mood, and overall wellbeing; it also supported skin and hair quality, including a reduction in visible blemishes and improvements in self-assessed skin quality, hair texture, hair volume, and scalp comfort [19].* That's why we use 100 mg of Xeya™, matching the dose and standardization used in the clinical research [19].*

Xeya™ is a trademark of Laila Nutra Private Limited.

Menofelis® Rheum rhaponticum Root Extract 

Rheum rhaponticum (Siberian Rhubarb) is the only rhubarb species native to Europe, with its sole confirmed wild population found in the Rila Mountains of Bulgaria. Although its common name is "Siberian Rhubarb" it does not originate from Siberia; the name is a historical trade label rather than a description of its origin [22]. 

In fact, R. rhaponticum has an interesting backstory. It was the first true rhubarb Europeans cultivated: it was grown at the Padua botanic garden, in Italy, in the early 17th century from seeds collected in Bulgaria and then spread to other European gardens. 

Europeans initially hoped it might replace the valued and very expensive rhubarb species long imported from Asia to be used as purgatives (R. palmatum and R. officinale), but it proved a weaker substitute (we now know that it lacks the compounds responsible for that effect). Its main use became culinary, as one of the parents of modern garden rhubarb [22,23]. Its use for menopausal symptoms came much later: it was developed and registered for menopausal complaints in Germany in the early 1990s [24].

The main bioactive compounds in R. rhaponticum are a type of naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds called hydroxystilbenes, particularly the hydroxystilbene glycosides rhaponticin and desoxyrhaponticin [25]. 

These compounds act selectively on one of the subtypes of estrogen receptors, estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) [26–28].* This receptor is associated with more protective functions relative to another subtype called estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) [29–31]. ERβ is found in high amounts in the brain and is present in regions of the hypothalamus that control thermoregulation (i.e., that run the body's thermostat). Its activation can therefore help to support temperature balance [28,32], as well as other brain-related effects.

For this product, we chose Menofelis® as our Siberian Rhubarb extract. Menofelis® is a clinically-studied Rheum rhaponticum root extract standardized to ≥81% hydroxystilbene glycosides (including ≥54% rhaponticin and ≥27% desoxyrhaponticin). This high standardization means that a very small amount of extract provides a large amount of bioactive compounds. That’s why we use only 4 mg of Menofelis®, which is the clinically studied amount [33–38]. 

Menofelis® is among the most extensively researched single botanicals for supporting physical comfort in perimenopausal women, which was the reason why we chose it. It's manufactured to the same standardization as the extract studied in the clinical research under the research designation ERr 731. Those clinical studies showed several benefits: it supported temperature balance, restful sleep, a balanced mood, and physical and mental vigor during perimenopause [33–38].* 

Menofelis® is a trademark of Finzelberg GmbH & Co. KG.

Black Cohosh Root Extract 

Black Cohosh is a botanical many people already associate with menopause, and for good reason. Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) is a plant native to eastern North America, where Indigenous peoples have long used the root for women's health. Black Cohosh was one of the most prominent herbs in 19th-century American medicine. 

It was championed by the Eclectic physicians (a major American medical school of that era) for gynecologic and rheumatic complaints, and first listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia in 1820 under the name "black snakeroot" [39]. It was even the signature ingredient in Lydia Pinkham's 19th-century Vegetable Compound, a popular herbal remedy used by women to relieve menstrual and menopausal discomfort [40]. 

Over the 20th century, its use declined in the US but increased in Europe, particularly in Germany, where it has been used for menstrual and menopausal complaints since the 1940s. Nowadays, it’s regaining popularity in the US and is one of the most recognized herbs for menopausal discomfort [41]. Few, if any, ingredients have been used so consistently to support women going through the menopausal transition.

A surprising fact about Black Cohosh is that, unlike Shatavari and Siberian Rhubarb, it does not seem to activate estrogen receptors [42,43]. Its biological activities involve serotonergic, dopaminergic, and GABAergic effects that influence thermoregulation, mood, and sleep [42,44–47].* 

So it acts by supporting pathways and processes that complement the activities of compounds that influence estrogen receptors, like those in Shatavari and Siberian Rhubarb. And that is one of the reasons we included it — to make our product as comprehensive as possible in what it targets and how it works.  

Black Cohosh is among the most extensively studied menopause botanicals, with evidence for support of comfort during the transition, particularly temperature comfort [48–51], and some evidence for sleep support in postmenopausal women [52].* We chose an extract standardized to triterpene glycosides, the main bioactive compounds, and included a 40 mg serving to deliver an amount in line with the clinical research.*

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) Flower Extract

This is certainly the most familiar ingredient in the formula: who hasn’t had chamomile tea, or at the very least, heard of it? Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla, German chamomile) is one of the most widely used calming botanicals, with over 2,000 years of traditional use across European, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian herbal medicine, typically as a flower infusion [53,54]. 

The extract we use is standardized to 1.2% apigenin, the main flavonoid in chamomile flowers. Apigenin supports signaling through GABA-A receptors [55]. These are receptors through which the neurotransmitter GABA exerts calming actions and promotes sleep [56]. Supporting it is a way to support two common complaints perimenopausal women often have: feeling agitated and having poor sleep.*

We chose this extract because a 2025 clinical study in women with menopausal complaints reported benefits using a 1.2% apigenin extract [57].* We decided to include 200 mg of the extract, which is only half the dose used in the study. That’s because there are other ingredients in this formula that can have additive effects to chamomile and we don’t want an overpowering relaxing action; we want to support a sense of calm and restfulness while also keeping you physically and mentally energized.* 

Heat-Treated Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305

This is the ingredient I think most people won't expect to find in a perimenopause product, and one I believe makes this formula genuinely different. 

Heat-Treated Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 is a clinically-studied postbiotic. Postbiotics are defined as “a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host” [58]. CP2305 is a strain of a Lactobacillus gasseri (a species naturally found in the human gut microbiota) that has been inactivated by heat. 

Though the microbes are not alive, the inactivated cells and their components can still interact with the gut microbiome to confer health benefits [58].

Heat-Treated L. gasseri CP2305 targets the gut-brain axis, which we believe is undervalued when it comes to supporting perimenopause comfort. The constant dialogue between the gut and the brain plays a key part in supporting healthy stress responses, mood, and sleep [59], all of which are essential for a comfortable transition, and postbiotics can help to do so.*

Heat-Treated L. gasseri CP2305 has been shown to do just that: in clinical studies in healthy adults, it shifted vagal balance (i.e., the balance between your sympathetic fight-or-flight and parasympathetic rest-and-digest nervous system activity managed by the vagus nerve) toward parasympathetic [60,61]. 

Parasympathetic activation is associated with the relaxation response and is crucial for sleep initiation and maintenance. In line with these observations, a study with CP2305 in students under exam stress showed it supported a calmer stress response and sleep quality [62].*

This would be reason enough to include it in our product, but Heat-Treated L. gasseri CP2305 has another key strength that makes it an undeniably great choice: it has been studied in middle-aged women with mild menopausal complaints, where it supported vasomotor comfort and psychological wellbeing [63].* We include the clinically-studied dose of 20 mg Heat-Treated L. gasseri CP2305.*

Gamma-Oryzanol (from Rice Bran extract) 

Gamma-Oryzanol (also spelled as γ-oryzanol) is another ingredient you’re unlikely to see in other products. It is a mixture of bioactive lipid molecules (i.e., fats) — specifically steryl ferulates (esters of ferulic acid with sterols and/or triterpene alcohols) extracted from rice bran, the nutrient-rich outer layer of the rice grain [64,65]. 

Gamma-Oryzanol has an interesting history: it's been used in Japan since the 1960s to support the balance of the autonomic nervous system as well as to support women through the menopausal transition [64]. An unbalanced autonomic nervous system may potentially aggravate hot flashes and night sweats because autonomic signalling is involved in temperature balance [66,67]. 

We included Gamma-Oryzanol because its autonomic balancing actions are an additional mechanism through which this product may help support temperature comfort during perimenopause, as well as other manifestations mediated by the autonomic nervous system, including stress and poor sleep [68,69].* We also like the fact that it has strong antioxidant properties that can help to support cellular and tissue health, important at any stage in life [64].* 

The clinical evidence for Gamma-oryzanol is from mid-20th-century Japanese studies showing reductions in flushing, sweating, sleep difficulty, and nervousness in women with menopausal disturbances [70–72].* 

We include 130 mg Gamma-oryzanol obtained from rice bran extract—60-300 mg is the range used for menopausal support. We expect this amount to complement the other ingredients in this formula. We believe this amount is adequate to support the autonomic nervous system in a way that may help ease manifestations of menopause.*

3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM)

DIM (3,3′-diindolylmethane) is a bioactive compound formed in the body from indole-3-carbinol, a phytochemical produced when cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale) are broken down in the digestive system [73]. 

DIM’s role in this formula is to support healthy estrogen metabolism [74].* Estrogen can be broken down through different pathways: one produces a compound called 2-hydroxyestrone, while the other produces 16α-hydroxyestrone.

 These two compounds have contrasting cellular activities and their ratio (known as 2:16 ratio) has been associated with health outcomes in the long-term: a higher ratio, so more 2-hydroxyestrone, has been linked to a support of long term health, and 2-hydroxyestrone is regarded a healthier metabolic product. Having a higher amount of estrogen flowing through the 2-hydroxy pathway is regarded as potentially beneficial [75]. 

What DIM does is precisely to nudge estrogen metabolism towards the 2-hydroxy pathway by supporting the enzymes involved in that pathway, thereby helping to support hormonal balance [76–78].* This was observed, for example, in a clinical study in premenopausal women, where supplementation was associated with a shift in estrogen metabolism toward the 2-hydroxy pathway [79].*

DIM is a well-characterized ingredient that we believe rounds out the formula: the botanicals support comfort, calm, and temperature, the postbiotic supports the gut-brain axis, Gamma-Oryzanol supports autonomic balance, and DIM supports healthy metabolism of the hormone at the center of the whole menopausal transition process—estrogen—during a period of hormonal fluctuation.* We include a 75 mg of DIM, matching the daily amount used in clinical studies.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products and information on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Please speak with an appropriate healthcare professional when evaluating any wellness related therapy. Please read the full medical disclaimer before taking any of the products offered on this site.