Impact of Rosa damascena extract on improving menopausal symptoms: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background and aim

Menopausal symptoms are annoying for many women. Todays, the increased awareness of the side effects associated with hormone replacement therapy has led to a rise in the use of medicinal plants for alleviating menopausal symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Rosa damascena and placebo on the physical, psychological, and urogenital symptoms of menopause.

Materials and methods

This triple-blind randomized clinical trial study was performed on 82 menopausal women. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups using a simple random allocation method. Intervention group received Rosa damascena (a 500 mg capsule of Rosa damascena hydroalcoholic extract), and placebo group (a 500 mg capsule of microcrystalline cellulose powder) every 12 h. The physical, psychological, and urogenital symptoms of menopause were evaluated using the Menopause Rating Scale at three time points: before the intervention, at four weeks, and eight weeks after the intervention.

Key results

The total mean score of the Menopause Rating Scale (P < 0.001), as well as the mean scores of physical (P < 0.001) and psychological symptoms (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001) in the Rosa damascena group significantly decreased at four and eight weeks after intervention, respectively. There was also a statistically decrease in the mean score of urogenital symptoms at eight weeks after the intervention (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of Rosa damascena extract in decreasing the severity of the menopausal symptoms, including physical, psychological, and urogenital symptoms.