A herbal remedy, Femal, based on pollen extracts, reduces major symptoms of PMS after 2 months of treatment

Killi M¹, Gerhardsen S², Fornitz G³, Roos S⁴, Hansen AV⁴, Gerhardsen G¹

¹Medical Practice, Kolbotn, Norway

²Medical Faculty, University of Oslo, Norway

³Medical Department, Amager Hospital, Denmark

⁴Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen County Hospital in Gentofte, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Objective

To evaluate if treatment with Femal would reduce symptoms of premenstrual tension (PMS) and if so further evaluate the time for onset of symptom reduction.

Materials and methods

One hundred and twenty women all suffering from PMS symptoms, according to the criteria outlined by Steiner et al., were included in a randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled multicentre study. Half of the patients received Femal tablets 160 mg twice daily for a 4-month treatment period and the remaining patients received identical placebo for the same period of time. PMS symptoms were evaluated using the pre-menstrual tension syndrome (PMTS)–self rating and the PMTS–observer rating scales. Main symptoms of PMS, such as irritability, sleeping quality and headache, were evaluated using VAS.

Results

PMTS—self rating and PMTS-observer rating scores declined by 40% (P < 0.047) after 2 months of treatment and by 50% after 4 months of treatment (P < 0.027). A similar and statistically significant reduction was observed after 2 and 4 months of treatment when irritability, sleeping quality and headache were evaluated using VAS scales.

Conclusion

The present data suggest that Femal can reduce symptoms of PMS if treatment is continued for at least 2 months.

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