A systematic review of some plants effective in thetreatment of dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation, is a condition that affects a large percentage of women in theworld. This has serious consequences on the quality of life and productivity. Several treatmentmethods have been proposed to reduce this condition, such as drug treatments, lifestyle modifications,and herbal medicine. In line with that, the objective of this systematic review is to determine theeffectiveness of some traditionally used herbs for the management of dysmenorrhea.Materials and Method:An extensive literature search across various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, andIranian databases such as SID and MagIran, was conducted for peer-reviewed articles up to October۲۰۲۳. The key search terms are "dysmenorrhea", "herbal treatment", and names of specific plantsmentioned in Persian and English literature. Studies that investigated the effectiveness of herbaltreatments were included based on strict inclusion criteria.Results:Different plants display mechanisms that may be effective in reducing menstrual pain(dysmenorrhea):Bursa-pastoris: Flavonoids inhibit the production of prostaglandins.Rosemary: Alcoholic extracts reduce the content of cyclooxygenase ۲ enzyme and electedprostaglandins.Millefolium: Blocks calcium channels and acts to inhibit contractions of the uterus' smooth muscles.Fennel: Due to its antispasmodic activity and dopamine receptor binding, fennel reduces pain.Chamomile: Anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties contribute to the relief of menstrualcramps.Mint (Supermint): was the inhibition of contractions of the uterus smooth muscles due to oxytocin andprostaglandin F۲α, responsible for dysmenorrhoea improvement.In general, allthe plants under consideration express several mechanisms that might provide help inthe relief of menstrual pain.Conclusion:Some evidence favors the efficacy of herbal medicines in treating primary dysmenorrhea. While the results of a great number of studies favor these herbs in use, small sample sizes and variation in study design items have limited them. Future research should be targeted on larger randomized controlled trials to confirm these findings and investigate the mechanisms behind the effects of these herbs.

کلیدواژه ها:

dysmenorrhea ، RCT ، herbal treatment