Avicenna J Phytomed. , 2018., Mar-Apr;8(2):96-113.

The effectiveness and safety of Iranian herbal medicines for treatment of premenstrual syndrome: A systematic review.

Maleki-Saghooni N, Karimi FZ, Behboodi Moghadam Z, Mirzaii Najmabadi K

Objective: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is one of the most common problems among women of reproductive age. The popularity of complementary/alternative therapies has grown in recent years, and these treatments have been more commonly used by women (48.9%) than men (37.8%). The aim of this systematic review was to assess effectiveness and safety of Iranian herbal medicines for treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched along with SID, Magiran and Irandoc up to Dec 2017.Inclusion criteria consist of Iranian, published, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using Iranian herbal medicine for treatment of reproductive age women with PMS. Eventually Eighteen RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Results: Overall, studies have shown that Vitex agnuscastus, Hypericum perforatum,Matricaria chamomilla, saffron, Curcumin, Melissa officinalis, Zataria multiflora,Wheat Germ Extract, Echinophora platyloba, Foeniculum vulgare, Valerian root extract,Citrus sinensis, Zingiber officinale and Flax seed might alleviate symptoms of PMS.Conclusion: This research demonstrated efficacy and safety of Iranian herbal medicines in alleviating PMS. Therefore, herbal medicine can be regarded as an alternative treatment for women suffering from PMS.

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This meta-analysis assessed eighteen papers focused on premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The aim of this systematic review was to assess effectiveness and safety of Iranian herbal medicines for treatment of premenstrual syndrome. The results showed that research has compared Vitex agnus castus and flaxseed. PMS was significantly improved in both intervention groups during the first and the second month after the treatment in one study. In the Vitex agnus and flaxseed groups, the mean total PMS scores were significantly lower than those of the control group that received placebo after the treatment (adjusted mean difference: -3.3 (95% CI: -4.0 to – 2.1); -4.3 (-5.5 to -3.0), respectively). In the second month after the intervention, the mean total PMS score was -5.8 (-7.0 to -4.7) in the Vitex agnus group and -6.6 (-8.1 to -5.7) in the flaxseed group. There was no significant difference between the Vitex agnus and flaxseed groups in terms of the PMS score. In another study, there was no significant difference between the Vitex agnus and flaxseed groups in terms of the PMS score.