ABSTRACT
Primary dysmenorrhea [PD] is a common gynecology problem in women. It is defined as a menstrual pain that occur in the absence of a pelvica disorder. PD causes school absence and restriction for many women and girls. Pain is the main complaint of PD but other systemic symptoms like headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, irritability and dizziness are common. Many chemical drugs have been used to manage dysmenorrhea, but most of them have side effects. Foeniculum vulgare is a plant used as an anti spasmodic agent. In this placebo-control, double - blind, randomized clinical trial, the effects of foeniculum vulgare extract on severity of symptoms of PF were evaluated. Severity of symptoms was assessed at baseline and throughout two menstrual cycles by using validated questionnaires. 90 single women between 17-30 suffered from primary dysmenorrhea participated in the study [n=44 experiment, n=46 placebo].The agent [capsules contained 46mg of foeniculum vulgare in the experimental group, and similar capsules in placebo group] was administered as soon as the onset of pain or bleeding five times a day for maximum of three days. Severity of systematic symptoms was assessed with Andersch and Milsom's verbal multidimensional scoring system. In order to analyze data, Friedman as well as Mann-Whitney tests and ANOVA with repeated measurements were used. Mean age was 20.78 +2.33 in the treatment group and 20.57+ 2.02 in the placebo. In comparison with baseline, the severity of all systematic symptoms decreased in both groups [except for the headache which increased slightly] but this reduction was not significant between the two groups. Statistical significance was not observed for systematic symptoms except for one of them, fatigue, which was in borderline limit [p=0.058]. In this study, no side effects of foeniculum vulgare wasseen. The foeniculum vulgare extract does not have sufficient effect on relief of systematic symptoms accompanying with dysmenorrhea except for fatigue which is decreased