The assessment of efficacy of Diascorea alata for menopausal symptom treatment in Taiwanese women

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of Diascorea alata for treatment of menopausal symptoms.

Materials and methods Two-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical investigation on 50 menopausal women randomly assigned to two groups, treated for 12 months with either placebo or two sachets daily of Diascorea extracts containing 12 mg/sachet. Primary outcome measures were changes in the Greene Climacteric Scale caused by Diascorea compared with placebo; secondary outcomes were changes in plasma hormone profiles. One-way ANCOVA test was performed to investigate the significance.

Results At 6 months and at the end of treatment, those women who received Diascorea showed general improvement in almost all the clinical symptoms investigated. A significant reduction was noted in the total Greene scores in the Diascorea group assessed at the end of 12 months' treatment (p  <  0.01). This phenomenon was more significant for the psychological parameters of anxiety than for other parameters. Apparent improvements were noted in the parameters ‘feeling tense or nervous’ (p  ==  0.007), ‘insomnia’ (p  ==  0.004), ‘excitable’ (p  ==  0.047) and ‘musculoskeletal pain’ (p  ==  0.019) among those receiving Diascorea. Diascorea consumption also resulted in positive effects on blood hormone profiles.

Conclusions Compared with placebo, Diascorea alata improves symptoms, particularly the psychological parameters in menopausal women. Safety monitoring indicated that standardized extracts of Diascorea alata were safe during daily administration over a period of 12 months.

Key words:

• MENOPAUSE
• DIASCOREA ALATA
• CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS
• PLASMA HORMONE PROFILE

Conflict of interest  The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Source of funding  This study was supported by grants from the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC:PMRPD1001, 2002-8-1 to 2004-7-31).