The Effect of Chamomile on Pain and Menstrual Bleeding in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review.
Azin Niazi, Maryam Moradi
PMID 34222539WHAT IT FOUND
Oral chamomile-containing regimens were reported to reduce pain and bleeding in women with primary dysmenorrhea across 7 trials.
Some trials combined chamomile with other herbs, and some between-group results were not significant.
Key findings
01The review included 7 trials with 1033 women with primary dysmenorrhea; trials testing chamomile-containing regimens reported benefit for pain, bleeding, or both.
02Some regimens also contained honey, ginger, fennel, thyme, or salvia, so the contribution of chamomile alone cannot be separated.
03In a study, bleeding decreased after two cycles in both groups without a significant between-group difference.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The trials used different chamomile doses, treatment days, and outcome measures, so the findings do not give one clear treatment course. Some regimens combined chamomile with honey, ginger, fennel, thyme, or salvia, so chamomile's own effect cannot be separated. One included study had no control group, and several comparisons were against other active treatments rather than placebo only. Some between-group results were not significant, including bleeding in one chamomile versus mefenamic acid trial and pain in the second cycle of a chamomile versus yarrow trial. Risk of bias was not low in every domain: random sequence and allocation were vague in two studies, and analyst blinding was vague in five. The included trials studied female students, so the findings may not apply to all women with primary dysmenorrhea.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that chamomile alone treats dysmenorrhea. Some trials used chamomile with honey, ginger, fennel, thyme, or salvia, and some between-group differences were not significant.