Systematic review, 2021
Does damask rose help reduce menstrual pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating?
Damask rose significantly reduced menstrual-related headache, fatigue, and bloating, but did not clearly reduce menstrual pain or anxiety. More research on pain and anxiety is needed.
What they did
They did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials testing damask rose as aromatherapy, topical treatment, or oral intake against placebo or no treatment for menstrual symptoms. They searched 7 databases and one search engine from inception to January 2021. Seven studies met their criteria.
What they found
The trials included 276 women in treatment groups and 272 women in comparison groups, aged 18-35 years. Damask rose did not significantly reduce menstrual pain. It also did not significantly reduce anxiety. However, it significantly reduced menstrual-related headache, fatigue, and bloating.
What it means for you
Damask rose may help with some menstrual symptoms but not others. It could be worth trying for headache, fatigue, and bloating, but more research is needed on pain and anxiety using different doses and treatment lengths. The main limitations are the small number of studies, different methods used in the trials, and the overall small sample size.
7
trials included
276
women in treatment groups
272
women in comparison groups
About the study
- Original title
- Effects of Rosa damascena (Damask rose) on menstruation-related pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Authors
- Koohpayeh SA, Hosseini M, Nasiri M et al.
- Journal
- Journal of education and health promotion
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- Rosa damascena (damask rose) as aromatherapy, topical treatment, or oral intake.
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_18_21
Topics
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