How to Normalize Menstrual Period Against the Onset of Primary Dysmenorrhea

By Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrition

Herbal  Anise may process an antinociceptive activity in reducing the expression of primary dysmenorrhea, some scientists suggested.

Primary dysmenorrhea pain is a menstrual pain caused by sensory neurons stimulus triggered by overproduction prostaglandins, hormones that lead to uterus contract before or during menstruation.
Antinociceptive activity is an action or process of blocking the painful or injurious stimulus by sensory neurons.

Some women may experience periodic pains during or prior to, or after menstrual periods in the lower abdomen.

In traditional Chinese medicine, dysmenorrhea is defined as a pain in the lower abdomen that can spread over to the whole abdomen and lumbosacral region, depending on the diagnosis.

According to statistic, primary dysmenorrhea affects more than 50% of women in late adolescence and the early 20s. Most primary dysmenorrhea appears 6 to 12 months after the first period due to immature of the reproductive organs of young girls,
Anise is a flowering plant of the species of Pimpinella anisum, genus Pimpinella, belonging to the family Apiaceae native to Egypt and the Mediterranean region.

The popular herb has been used in traditional herbal medicine as a fragrance in soaps, oils, and mouth fresheners and stomachic, antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, carminative, digestive, expectorant, stimulant and tonic agent and to treat head-lice and mites, increase blood pressure, prevent formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract,…. and menstrual cramps.

The Chemical Ingredients
Besides the main ingredient Anethole, herbal anise also contains, D-pinene, I-phellandrene, Alpha-terpineol, Safrol, Methyl chavicol, Resin, Shikimic acid, etc.

In the finding of natural ingredient treat primary dysmenorrhea without inducing side effects, Dr. Khodakrami Nahid, MSM and colleague conducted a study to examine the effect of an Iranian herbal drug in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial among 180 female students at Isfahan University dormitory aged 18 to 27.

Participants were randomly divided into three groups: herbal drug were given 500 mg of highly purified saffron, celery seed, and anise (SCA) extracts three times a day for three days, starting from the onset of bleeding or pain,  mefenamic acid, and placebo.

After following the participants for two to three cycles from the beginning of menstruation through the three days of bleeding and the severity and duration of pain at 2 and 3 months were measured.

At the final report of the study, researchers filed,

* Women received Anise extract and mefenamic acid showed a statistically significant reduction in pain scores and pain duration scores.

*  The decrease in pain score was reflected by a significant reduction in other herbal drug use among the treatment groups compared to the placebo group but lesser compared to Anise group.

* Application of Anise extract demonstrated a  magnitude of the reduction which is significantly greater compared mefenamic acid and placebo groups.

* However, both herbal drugs and mefenamic acid effectively relieved menstrual pain as compared with the placebo.

These results suggested that herbal Anise processed strong antinociceptive activity against pain caused by primary dysmenorrhea may be considered as a functional herb for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
1. Herbal combination for primary dysmenorrhea by Tori Hudson, ND
2. The effect of an Iranian herbal drug on primary dysmenorrhea: a clinical controlled trial.