Women spend 30 years of their
lives after menopause, which is more than one-third of their lives. Forty
percent of premenopausal women, 70 to 80 percent of women who naturally go
through menopause and 90 to 100 percent of those who have had ovarectomy, experience
“hot flashes”. It occurs more than 10 times a day in 30 percent of them.
Hot flash and perspiration do not
jeopardize one’s life but they may result in anxiety and discomfort and they
can even affect one’s career, housework and leisure time. Hot flashes usually
occur during the night so they affect sleeping patterns and lead to
perspiration and sleeplessness. Definitely, insomnia causes anger, restlessness
and reduces mental functions, hence makes the body vulnerable to all sorts of
stress disorders and can be indirectly related to coronary heart diseases. The
proposed treatments are not acceptable for women or practitioners due to their
side effects, inappropriate efficacy, or unclear dosage.
Furthermore, menopause symptoms
are different among populations with different diets, especially those rich in
phytoestrogen, which has attracted the attention of women and practitioners to
natural, inexpensive herbs that bear little or no side effect. Herbs with
estrogen-like components such as ginseng and valerian are recommended for the
reduction of menopause symptoms.
In 2013 a study was conducted to
determine the effects of valerian root on hot flashes in menopausal women and
the results were published in Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research.
This study was a randomized
double blind clinical trial. Data were collected in three stages (before the
treatment, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the treatment) and from two groups
including valerian and placebo group. The subjects include 68 women between the
ages of 45 to 55.
There was no meaningful
difference between the two groups with regard to age, age at menopause and BMI.
Subjects were matched for education, occupation, socioeconomic status and there
was no meaningful difference between the two groups.
The women in the drug group were
prescribed 255 mg Valerian capsules 3 times a day for 8 weeks. The women in the
placebo group were prescribed identical capsules filled with starch. Then,
severity and frequency of hot flashes were measured and recorded through
questionnaires and information forms in three levels (2 weeks before, four and
eight weeks after the treatment).
The Severity of hot flashes
revealed a meaningful statistical difference pre- and post- Valerian treatment;
while this difference was not meaningful in the placebo group. Further, the
comparison of the two groups regarding the severity of hot flash after the
treatment showed a meaningful statistical difference.
Valerian has also led to a
reduction of hot flash frequencies 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment but this
difference was not meaningful in drug like group.
As a result, it can be strongly
stated that the reduction in severity and frequency of hot flashes is merely
due to the phytoestrogen in valerian, which can be prescribed to women who
suffer from hot flashes in a simple and non-invasive manner.
1. Mirabi,
P., & Mojab,
F. (2013). The Effects of Valerian Root on Hot Flashes in Menopausal Women.
Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 12(1), 217–222. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3813196/