---
title: Does Xiaoyaosan, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, help PMDD?
description: Yes. Women with PMDD who took Xiaoyaosan for three menstrual cycles showed improvement compared to a control group of healthy women.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/investigating-the-mechanisms-of-xiaoyaosan-on-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-2024/
---

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- Does Xiaoyaosan, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, help PMDD?

Study, 2024

# Does Xiaoyaosan, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, help PMDD?

Yes. Women with PMDD who took Xiaoyaosan for three menstrual cycles showed improvement compared to a control group of healthy women.

 Moderate study design

30 women with PMDD and 16 healthy women

## What they did

Researchers gave 30 women with PMDD a traditional Chinese herbal medicine called Xiaoyaosan for three menstrual cycles. They compared them to 16 healthy women without PMDD. Urine samples from all participants were collected and analyzed using laboratory techniques to look at chemical markers.

## What they found

Xiaoyaosan had a clear beneficial effect on PMDD symptoms compared to the control group. The study found 39 different chemical markers in women with PMDD compared to healthy women. After Xiaoyaosan treatment, 14 different chemical markers were detected, related to energy metabolism in the nervous system.

## What it means for you

This suggests Xiaoyaosan may help PMDD by affecting how the nervous system uses energy. However, the study was small and did not randomly assign women to groups. More research is needed.

30

women with PMDD treated

16

healthy women in control group

3

menstrual cycles of treatment

## About the study

Original title Investigating the mechanisms of Xiaoyaosan on premenstrual dysphoric disorder using metabolomics technology Authors Mengbai Xu, Yueyun Liu, Yueyun Liu et al. Journal Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine Year 2024 Study design Study Participants 39 What was tested Xiaoyaosan (traditional Chinese herbal medicine) for three menstrual cycles Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.prmcm.2024.100398](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prmcm.2024.100398)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)

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