The effect of an Iranian herbal drug on primary dysmenorrhoea - A clinical control trial

To study the effect of an Iranian herbal drug in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial among 180 female students settled at Isfahan University dormitory aged 18–27 years who suffered from primary dysmenorrhoea was conducted. Participants were divided into three groups randomly (herbal drug, mefenamic acid and placebo). The herbal drug (Saffron, Celery See and Anise extracts highly purified) group was given 500 mg of SCA three times a day for three days, starting from the onset of bleeding or pain was administered. Participants were followed with three cycles from beginning of menstruation and continued through the whole three days of bleeding. Main outcome measures the severity and duration of pain at two and three months. A visual analogue scale was used to record pain. Overall-pain was the average pain intensity among days in pain. There were statistically significant reductions in pain score and pain duration in SCA (p<0.01) and mefenamic acid (p<0.01) groups. The decrease in pain score was reflected by a significant reduction in another drug used among the treatment groups compared with placebo. The magnitude of the reduction was significantly greater in the SCA group than in mefenamic acid and placebo (p=0.031). Both of the drugs relieved menstrual pain effectively in compare with placebo. So more clinical trials are need for efficacy of this herbal drug.