The Effect of Melissa officinalis Extract on the Severity of Primary Dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea refers to painful cramps during menstruation with no organic reason. With respect to its high incidence and adverse outcomes in quality of life and some evidences regarding the sedative and antispasmodic effects of Melissa officinailson smooth muscles as an herb, this double-blind clinical trial was conducted to determine the effects of its capsules on severity of dysmenorrhea in the students of Islamic Azad University of Zanjan in 2014. 110 students were matched in terms of dysmenorrhea severity and experience; age; menarche; body mass index (BMI); occupation as well as educational level of parents; and duration, interval as well as amount of bleeding. Then, they were randomly divided into 2 herb (55 subjects) and placebo (55 subjects) groups. The former was given capsules 330 mg of the herb 3 times a day over 3 days at the onset of hemorrhage while the latter was given placebo in similar capsules containing corn starch with the same protocol. Pain severity was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (0 to 10 cm). Different statistical tests were used for data analysis with SPSS package. No significant difference was found between the means of pain severity in the groups before the intervention. However, the severity was reduced in both groups after the intervention (P<0.001) but the amount of it was more in Melissa group with a significant difference (P<0.05). With respect to the findings, it seems that M. officinalismay decrease dysmenorrhea, which may be related to antispasmodic effects of this herb.