Effect of Garlic (Allium sativum) Supplementation on Premenstrual Disorders: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Premenstrual disorders involve physical, behavioral, and mood variations that affect women of childbearing age and interfere with family relationships, household responsibilities, professional duties, and social activities. OBJECTIVES: Considering the side effects of conventional medications, their use is not recommended except in severe cases of premenstrual disorders. Nowadays, there is a tendency to use traditional and complementary medicine that offers various treatments. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impacts of garlic as a herbal medicine on the severity of premenstrual symptoms. METHODS: This study was a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. After identification of participants with moderate-to-severe PMS through the premenstrual symptoms screening tools questionnaire (PSST), they were randomly assigned to placebo (n = 64) or garlic (n = 65) groups. Each participant received one tablet daily for three consecutive cycles and logged the severity of their symptoms in the PSST questionnaire during the intervention period. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the baseline level of premenstrual symptoms before the intervention. After treatment with garlic for three consecutive cycles, the total score of the severity of premenstrual symptoms significantly (P < 0.001) reduced from 34.09 ± 7.31 to 11.21 ± 7.17. In the placebo group, this score changed from 33.35 ± 7.96 to 24.28 ± 7.22. The difference between mean changes in the two groups was 13.78, with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of 11.23–16.33. No serious side effects were observed in either group. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the potential effect of garlic in reducing the severity of premenstrual symptoms; therefore, the use of garlic can be considered as an alternative therapy in the prevention and treatment of premenstrual disorders.