Cohort study, 2022
Can the herbal supplement Agnus castus ease PMS symptoms in teenage girls?
In this small study, three months of Agnus castus (20mg daily) reduced most PMS symptoms in teenage girls, working best on mood-related and fluid-retention symptoms and less well on skin and joint symptoms.
What they did
31 girls aged 17 to 19 with PMS were followed before and during 3 months of treatment with Prefemin (Agnus castus 20mg). Symptoms were tracked using a questionnaire covering 47 PMS symptoms grouped into 6 categories.
What they found
On average each girl had 13.1 PMS symptoms before treatment. Mood-related symptoms affected 100% of girls and improved in 71% with treatment, and fluid-retention symptoms also improved in 71%. Joint and muscle symptoms were common (77.4% of girls) but improved less often (58.1%). Skin symptoms affected 54.8% (17 girls), and about half of those girls (8) improved, with acne remaining a problem.
What it means for you
Agnus castus may help with many PMS symptoms, especially mood and fluid-retention ones, and could be an alternative to other PMS medications, but it seemed less helpful for skin problems. The study was small and had no comparison group.
13.1
Average symptoms per girl before treatment
71%
Mood symptoms improved
58.1%
Joint/muscle symptoms improved
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual Syndrome Clinical Manifestations Peculiarities in Adolescents
- Authors
- Г.Н. Алимбаева, Т.Ю. Нурбаева
- Journal
- Репродуктивное здоровье Восточная Европа
- Year
- 2022
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 31
- What was tested
- Agnus castus (Prefemin), 20mg daily for 3 months
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.34883/pi.2022.12.3.004
Topics
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