The Effect of Fennel Oral Capsules on Physical Symptoms Caused by Menopause in Women Publisher



Golzareh P¹ ; Rahimi R² ; Rahimikian F³ ; Bekhradi R⁴ ; Mehran A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Obstetrics# Gynecology and Infertility Published:2017

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause symptoms can have harmful effects on women's life and affect their quality of life. Most of post-menopausal women have turned to complementary medicine therapies such as herbal therapy and the use of phytoestrogens for compatibility with menopausal symptoms. This study was performed with aim to assess the effect of fennel as a phytoestrogen in treatment of menopausal physical symptoms. Methods: This clinical randomized trial was performed in 2016 on 90 post-menopause women aged 45-60 years in Tehran. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups of fennel and placebo. Women in fennel group received 8 weeks of treatment with daily two 100mg fennel soft capsules and in placebo group with two 100 mg sun flower oil capsules. The menopausal physical symptoms were measured by the physical part of Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 14) and Independent t-test and Paired t-test. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The two groups were similar in menopausal physical symptoms before the intervention. But, after 8 weeks of the intervention, Independent t-test showed that menopausal physical symptoms after the intervention were significantly decreased compared to before the intervention (P<0.001), but in placebo group, menopausal physical symptoms after the intervention were not significantly different with before the intervention (P>0.05). Conclusion: Fennel is effective in reducing menopausal physical symptoms without any serious side effect. More researches are needed to definite the results of this study. © 2017, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.