Study, 2023
Can a herbal supplement called chasteberry help with PMS and period pain?
This review of past studies suggests chasteberry is safe and has a positive effect on PMS and period pain, though it is a summary of other people's research rather than a new trial.
What they did
This was a review article, not a new study on patients. The authors searched for papers published up to May 2022 using search engines like Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed and Scopus, looking for work on chasteberry and its effect on PMS and period pain.
What they found
Early lab-based work points to chasteberry acting on the serotonin system and binding to dopamine receptors in the brain. The clinical studies that were reviewed found chasteberry to be safe and to have a positive effect on both PMS and period pain.
What it means for you
Chasteberry may be a safe natural option worth discussing with a doctor for PMS and period pain. Because this is a review of other studies rather than a new trial, it does not give exact numbers on how much symptoms improved, and the quality of the original studies behind it is not described.
May 2022
Search cutoff for included studies
About the study
- Original title
- El alivio natural: Sauzgatillo (Vitex agnus-castus) para el síndrome premenstrual y la dismenorrea
- Authors
- Manuel Sánchez Prieto, Helena Losa-Puig, Natanael Antonio Domínguez-Osorio et al.
- Journal
- Revista chilena de obstetricia y ginecología
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus), a herbal supplement
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.24875/rechog.22000116
Topics
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