Effects of a combination of Nigella sativa and Vitex agnus-castus with citalopram on healthy menopausal women with hot flashes: results from a subpopulation analysis

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to evaluate the efficiency of a phytotherapeutic intervention consisting of a combination of Nigella sativa and Vitex agnus-castus with citalopram in the control of hot flashes in healthy menopausal women. An 8 week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed among 46 women aged between 40 and 60 years experiencing an average of more than four hot flashes per day recruited during July 2016 to June 2017. Data on severity of vasomotor symptoms were collected at the end of the eighth week. Herbal medication or placebo capsules were administered once daily in morning. At the end of the 8-week treatment period, analyses of covariance demonstrated the superiority of herbal combination with citalopram over placebo and citalopram for three MENQOL domain scores including vasomotor (p < .001), physical (p = .036), psychosocial (p = .001) but no significant differences were observed in terms of sexual function (p = .231). Based on the results, the addition of a combination of N. sativa and V. agnus-castus to the citalopram may be a potential clinical application for improving therapeutic outcomes. Larger randomized, controlled trials are also warranted for further investigations of these symptoms.

摘要

本研究的目的是评价一种植物治疗干预方法的有效性, 该方法是将西酞普兰联合紫丁香和蓖麻用以控制健康绝经期妇女的潮热症状。我们对从2016年7月至2017年6月招募的年龄在40岁至60岁、平均每天经历4次以上潮热的46名女性进行了为期8周的双盲、随机、安慰剂对照研究。在第8周结束时收集了关于血管舒缩症状严重程度的数据。每天早晨服用一次草药或安慰剂胶囊。8周的治疗周期结束后, 对绝经期生存质量量表三个维度, 包括心血管舒缩症状(p < .001)、生理状态(p = .036)、心理社会状态(p = .001)的得分经行协方差分析, 结果显示草药结合西酞普兰比安慰剂更有效, 但没有观察到性生活维度的显著差异(p = .231)。根据研究结果, 在西酞普兰中添加紫丁香和蓖麻的联合用药可能是改善治疗效果的一种有潜力的临床应用, 而且对绝经期症状进行更大规模的随机、对照试验研究也是有必要的。

Keywords:

• Nigella sativa Vitex agnus-castus
• citalopram
• hot flashes
• MENQOL scores

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.