Do Chamomile effect on duration, amount of bleeding, and interval of menstrual cycles?

OBJECTIVES: Heavy menstrual bleeding has a significant effect on women’s daily life and health consequences for theirs. Attention to women’s and girls’ menstrual health is critical for their health. This study presents the results of a novel research on the effect of chamomile capsule on the amount of bleeding, and the duration and interval of menstrual cycles. METHODS: The current study was a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, which was carried out on 118 female students living in dorms of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. The participants were divided into two groups of 59, each receiving either chamomile capsule 250 mg or placebo three times a day, for an interval beginning from 7 days before the starting menstruation till the next onset. Higham chart is the pictorial blood loss assessment to determine the amount and duration of menstrual bleeding. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Alpha was set at 0.05 for all analyses. RESULTS: The average amount of bleeding in the chamomile group decreased after taking the capsule (p = 0.001). However, statistical tests did not show any significant difference in terms of duration and interval between two bleeding in both the experimental and control groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the chamomile capsule decreases the amount of menstrual bleeding and can be used as a therapeutic method.