Comparison of the effect of Citrus Aurantium Flower Hydroalcoholic Extract with Mefenamic Acid on Severity of Primary Dysmenorrhea

Abstract

Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common complaints of women with adverse effects on social, economical and psychological states of their life. Medicinal plants, which have been reported beneficial in treatment of different aspects of this problem in Persian traditional medicine, can be a suitable method for treating disorder. Our aim was to study the effect of Citrus aurantium(C.A) flower extract on Primary dysmenorrhea, bleeding time and possible side effects.

Methods: This study was a randomized double blind clinical trial, in which with convenient sampling, 105 Primary dismenorrhea patients aged 15 to 20 years were randomly(with RandList software) assigned to three groups of Citrus aurantium flower capsules, mefenamic acid capsules, or placebo capsules (35 participants in each). Depending on their group, they consumed 250 mg capsule of Mefenamic acid, Citrus aurantium flower or Placebo 3 times a day for first 3 days of two consecutive cycles. They marked the severity of the pain from 0 to 10 on McGill pain ruler. Data was analized by SPSS22. Results: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance, showed that the severity of dysmenorrhea and days of bleeding in C.A flower and mefenamic acid groups were significantly lower than before the intervention and compared to the placebo group (P=0.000). The reduction in severity of pain in the C.A flower group was also significantly higher than that of the mefenamic acid group (P= 0.000). C.A flower group reported the least side effects(82.4% without reported side effects). Also significant reduction of bleeding time was observed in the intervention groups (P=0.000). Conclusion: Due to higher effect of Citrus aurantium flower in reducing the severity of primary dysmenorrhea compared to Mefenamic acid, very low side effects, high satisfaction with its consumption and ease of access, this herb can be a good alternative for treating patients with primary dysmenorrhea.