Comparing the effect of black Cohosh versus Vitagnus on the impovement of menopause symptoms

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause is one of the crises in women’s life and most women experience physical and psychological symptoms along with mood changes during this period. Among non-hormonal alternative treatments, medicinal herbs with phytoestrogen have been more considered. Therefore, the present study was conducted with aim to compare the effect of black Cohosh versus Vitagnus on the improvement of menopause symptoms. Methods: This double-blind clinical trial was performed on 135 menopausal women who were under the coverage of the health centers of Rafsanjan in 2015. The subjects were randomly assigned into three groups of black Cohosh, Vitagnus and control. Data about menopause symptoms were collected using MRS questionnaire before, four weeks and eight weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 18), and variance analysis, Chi-square, and Mann-Whitney tests. PResults: There was no significant statistical difference in the mean of total score of menopausal symptoms in the three groups of black Cohosh, Vitagnus and control before the intervention (p = 0.85). Four and eight weeks after the intervention, there was a significant statistical difference between the three groups (p 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of both plants of black Cohosh and Vitagnus on the improvement of menopause symptoms, it is recommended to use this treatment, but the use of Vitagnus seems more affordable because it is a local plant in Iran.

Keywords

• black cohosh
• menopause symptoms
• vitagnus