The Effect of Valerian and Ginger on Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Dysmenorrhea is a frequent complaint in young females. In recent years, researchers have grown an interest in the use of herbal drugs to decrease menstrual pain given the side effects of chemical drugs. This project was conducted to evaluate the effect of valerian and ginger on the duration of pain and analgesic use in dysmenorrhea.

This triple-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 210 dormitory females who were randomly divided into valerian, ginger, and control groups after opening an envelope. In this study, 250 and 350 mg of ginger and valerian in each capsule were administered, respectively, and 250 mg sugar was used as a placebo. The number of days with pain and analgesic use were evaluated as well. Finally, descriptive (percentage and mean) and inferential (t test, post hoc, and chi-square at a significance level of 0.05) statistics were used to analyze the data.

The results of the study showed a marginally significant difference in the duration of pain between ginger (1.61 ± 0.64 days) and control (2.12 ± 0.81 days) groups (P = 0.052), and significant difference between ginger (1.61 ± 0.64 days) and valerian (2.53 ± 1.43 days) groups (P = 0.001). The mean days of analgesic use among the three groups were not different significantly (P > 0.05). However, the mean severity of symptoms significantly differed between ginger (0.73 ± 0.28) and control (0.3 ± 0.04) groups and increased in the ginger group (P = 0.003).

In general, the administration of valerian and ginger at the doses used in this study failed to produce desirable analgesic effects and thus could not decrease the symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea