Comparison of traditional medicines of Rheum Palmatum versus Paeonia Officinalis and Mefenamic acid on primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized clinical trail

Abstract

More than half of the society is women. Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common abnormalities in women that has been cited various traditional therapies in Persian medicine for this disorder. We aimed to assess and compare the effects of Rheum Palmatum (RP), Paeonia Officinalis (PO) and mefenamic acid on primary dysmenorrhea. In this double – blind randomized clinical trial study 105 students residing in the dormitory of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences from 18 to 35 years old were randomly divided into three groups. During the first cycle, the control cycle (placebo) was given to the patients and patients were asked to respond to the degree of severity and duration of pain along with other symptoms. During the second and third cycles, a capsule containing 500 mg of RP was given to group one, a 500-mg capsule containing Favania to the experimental group 2 and capsule containing 250 mg of Mefenamic acid in 500 mg capsule sachets to the third group. The results of this study showed that Rivand (RP) significantly reduced the severity and duration of menstrual pain compared to the other two drugs (p<0.001(. Also, the volume of menstrual bleeding in these this group was significantly reduced, which was less than that of the Mefenamic acid group (p> 0.05). Blood volume in the Fovania group was significantly higher in comparison with the other two groups (p <0.001). The results of this study showed that RP significantly decreased the severity and duration of menstrual pain and the volume of bleeding during menstruation. No major side effects have been reported, therefore, it can be a good alternative to treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in patients.