The effect of Ginger on symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in university students

Background and Objective: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder in women of reproductive ages. Regarding the unknown etiology of this syndrome, several treatments are recommended one of them is use of medicinal herbs. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Ginger on severity of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Materials and Method: In this double-blind clinical trial study, 70 students from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, which suffered from premenstrual syndrome were randomly assigned to Ginger and placebo groups in 2013. Participants received two capsules daily from seven days before menstruation to three days after it for three cycles and they recorded severity of their symptoms. Demographic information form and daily record of symptoms questionnaire were data collection tools. Data of before interventions and 1, 2 and 3 months after it were analyzed using repeated-measurement analysis of variances and indepented t tests via SPSS18 software. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Before intervention, there were no significant difference (P = 0.710) between the mean scores of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in the two groups (110.20 ± 30/77 in Ginger and 106.70 ± 44.65 in placebo groups). But at 1, 2 and 3 months after intervention, there were significant differences (P < 0.001( between the mean scores of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in the two groups (105.70 ± 45.76, 107.20 ± 50.68 and 106.00 ± 48.74 in placebo, and 51.18 ± 32.76, 49.48 ± 33.12, and 47.06 ± 33.41 in Ginger groups, respectively). Conclusion: Based on results of this study, Ginger may be effective in reduction of severity of psychological, physical and behavioral symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. However, therapeutic use of these drugs needs further studies.