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.
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
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