The impact of Valerian root extract on mood and behavioral symptoms severity in premenstrual syndrome

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder. Due to the lack of understanding of the precise etiology of this syndrome, various treatments have been proposed. One method of treatment is the use of herbs. This study aimed to investigate the effect of valerian root extract on intensity of mood and behavioral symptoms of PMS. In this double-blind clinical trial, 100 female students of Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with PMS were randomly assigned to groups receiving valerian and placebo in 2013. The participants received 2 pills daily seven days before until the beginning of their menstrual cycle for 3 cycles and recorded their symptoms. The data gathering tools included demographic information questionnaire and daily symptoms severity questionnaire. Data were compared before the intervention, and the on the first, second, and third cycles after the intervention using Student’s independent ttest, paired t-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance SPSS16. All P values < 0.05 were considered significant. A significant difference was observed in mean premenstrual mood (P < 0.001) and behavioral (P < 0.001) symptoms severity of in the intervention group before and after the intervention. However, this difference was not statistically significant in the control group. Moreover, repeated measures ANOVA showed that the difference in mean of mood and behavioral symptoms before the intervention, and one, two, and three months after the intervention in the intervention group was significant (P < 0.001). Nevertheless, this difference was not significant in the control group. The results of this study showed that valerian root extract may reduce mood and behavioral symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.