Thursday 22 October 2009
Can herbs alleviate premenstrual type symptoms in midlife?
Women approaching menopause who experience PMS-like symptoms ranging from craving for
sweets to headache and insomnia may find relief in a simple treatment that combines two
commonly-used herbs – St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) and Chaste-tree berry (Vitex
agnus-castus).
Research from the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health, RMIT and the University of New
England has found the herbal combination may be particularly effective at reducing symptoms
such as depression, cravings, headaches, dizziness, forgetfulness, crying and insomnia.
The herbs also improved anxiety-related symptoms and hydration-type symptoms such as
bloating, breast tenderness and weight gain.
“These PMS-like symptoms can be quite prevalent in perimenopausal women – women
approaching menopause,” says lead researcher, Dr Diana van Die.
“But this is a reasonably neglected area in terms of research, and in terms of available
conventional drug treatments.
“Problems such as irritability, mood changes, bloating and the other PMS-like symptoms certainly
affect the quality of life of women and of the people around them – which is why the findings of
this small study are potentially quite exciting.”
PMS-like symptoms can be worse in early stages of perimenopause with some women who have
not previously experienced significant PMS symptoms developing them after 40 years of age.
Women further into perimenopause who experience PMS-like symptoms concurrently with
menopausal symptoms may find themselves unable to use conventional hormone therapy (HT)
because progestin hormones in HT can aggravate PMS symptoms, or induce PMS-like symptoms
in susceptible women.
The St John’s wort/chaste-tree herbal combination may provide these women with some relief,
says the research.
Chaste tree is already widely used to alleviate PMS symptoms. St John’s wort has also been
shown in some research to reduce the severity of PMS symptoms, but it has been more widely
researched as a treatment for mild to moderate depression.
This is the first study to use the two herbs in combination as a potential treatment for PMS-like
symptoms in perimenopause.
The research was a sub-study of a randomised controlled trial examining the effects of the herbal
combination on menopausal symptoms.
While the combination was not shown to be superior to placebo for the general menopausal
symptoms, it did show ‘significant’ benefit on PMS-like symptoms in a sub-group of 14 women
who were in late perimenopause and having irregular periods, says Dr van Die. The research
findings were gathered over a 16-week period, with the average age of the women being 49 years
old.
The size of the study was small, and it was not a dedicated PMS study so there needs to be some
caution in interpreting the results. But Dr van Die believes the research findings merit further
investigation of the efficacy of the Chaste-tree/St John’s wort combination on PMS-like symptoms.
“The findings are important because of the large numbers of women choosing to use herbal
remedies for PMS-like symptoms,” says Dr van Die.
“Many women just put up with these uncomfortable symptoms or seek natural alternatives, many
of which don’t, as yet, have evidence from clinical trials to support them.
“This research suggests a potentially significant clinical application for this combination of herbs
for women who don’t have a lot of treatment options at the moment.”
For further information about this research, contact diana.vandie@rmit.edu.au
To find a herbalist in your area, contact the Australian Natural Therapists Association or the
Australian Traditional-Medicine Society.
NOTE:
In September 2009, Dr van Die’s research on this herbal combination for menopausal symptoms
received the Australasian Menopause Society Scientific Award for the most meritorious
contribution to the field of menopause by an Australian or New Zealand investigator. This is an
annual award based on a published/accepted paper on a specific subject related to menopause or
women's midlife health in the past 12 months.
MEDIA
To interview Dr van Die please call Aleeza Zohar on (03) 9562 6771 or 0425 758 729.
NEWS 
