Study, 2015
Does evening primrose oil reduce PMS symptoms?
Yes. Women taking 1500 mg of evening primrose oil daily for 3 months had significant reduction in PMS symptom severity, while women taking placebo did not improve.
What they did
Randomly assigned 80 female university students to take either 1500 mg of evening primrose oil daily or placebo for 3 months. They measured symptom severity at the beginning and after 1, 2, and 3 months.
What they found
The group taking evening primrose oil had symptom severity scores drop from 53.20 at the start to 33.62 after 3 months. The placebo group's scores went from 53.38 to 50.27 over the same period. Only the evening primrose oil group showed clear improvement.
What it means for you
Evening primrose oil may help reduce PMS symptoms. The study involved only female university students living in student hostels, so findings may not apply to all women. The study lasted 3 months, which is relatively short to determine long-term benefit.
80
female university students
1500
mg evening primrose oil daily
3
months of treatment
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of primrose oil on the premenstrual syndrome among the female students in Lorestan University of Medical Sciences: A triple blind study
- Authors
- Mandana Saki, Mandana Saki, Soheila Akbari et al.
- Journal
- Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 80
- What was tested
- Evening primrose oil 1500 mg daily or placebo
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4103/2345-5756.231415
Topics
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