Herbal Help for Painful Periods

Recently we’ve written about the striking benefits of saffron for the general population and, specifically, for men. Well, here’s one for women. A herbal combination featuring saffron is better than drugs for painful periods. . . . 

This study followed 180 female university students between the ages of 18 and 27 for 2-3 menstrual cycles. All the women in the study suffered from dysmenorrhoea, or painful periods. The study was double-blinded and gave the women either a placebo, the drug mefenamic acid or a herbal combination for three days starting from the onset of bleeding or pain. The herbal combination included extracts of saffron, celery seed and anise. The dose was 500mg three times a day. The drug mefenamic acid is a NSAID that is commonly used for dysmenorrhoea. It has a host of possible side effects, including ulcers and, incredibly, increased risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Both the mefenamic acid and the herbal combination significantly reduced pain scores and the duration of the pain, but the reduction was significantly greater in the herb group than in the drug group or the placebo group.

The use of this herbal combination is especially exciting since it works better than a commonly prescribed drug that has such potentially serious side effects.

J Midwifery Womens Health 2009;54:401-4