Rafieian-Kopaei, M., & Movahedi, M. (2017). Systematic Review of Premenstrual, Postmenstrual and Infertility Disorders of Vitex Agnus Castus. Electronic physician, 9(1), 3685-3689. https://doi.org/10.19082/3685
Rafieian-Kopaei M, Movahedi M. Systematic Review of Premenstrual, Postmenstrual and Infertility Disorders of Vitex Agnus Castus. Electronic physician. 2017;9(1):3685-3689. doi:10.19082/3685
Rafieian-Kopaei, Mahmoud, and Mino Movahedi. "Systematic Review of Premenstrual, Postmenstrual and Infertility Disorders of Vitex Agnus Castus." Electronic physician, vol. 9, no. 1, 2017, pp. 3685-3689.
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RRM Academy Synopsis
Vitex agnus-castus extract helps PMS symptoms, a 2017 review reports
A 2017 review of 43 studies reports that vitex extract helps premenstrual syndrome symptoms. The two Iranian authors, a pharmacologist and a gynecologist, searched four databases. They also report quicker relief of cyclical breast pain in one trial, and say the plant contributes to infertility treatment in men and women.
Key Findings
The authors searched PubMed, Medline, Web of Science and IranMedex, found about 87 references, and kept 43 articles for further study.
The review reports that vitex agnus-castus extract helped premenstrual syndrome, including moderate-to-severe cases, and in a fluoxetine comparison reduced the physical symptoms.
In one clinical trial the review cites, breast pain diminished quicker in the vitex group, and tolerability was satisfactory.
The infertility section cites one clinical trial, laboratory work on estrogen receptors and a mouse study in males on luteinizing hormone and testosterone.
The authors conclude that dopamine-acting compounds in the plant help premenstrual breast pain and that the plant contributes to treating infertility in both men and women.
Interpretation
The authors call this a systematic review. The review summarizes 43 mixed studies: clinical trials, lab work and animal research. The review pools no results, and its quality assessment describes only checking inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings describe what single studies reported. The infertility section rests on one clinical trial, lab work on estrogen receptors and a mouse study in males, and the review reports no pregnancy rates. The section says the trial confirmed anti-fertility effects, which conflicts with the authors' conclusion of benefit. The abstract's postmenstrual section covers the postmenopausal period.
RRM Context
Restorative reproductive medicine asks why a cycle is disturbed before choosing a remedy. The review lists luteal phase defect and mild high prolactin among vitex uses without reporting data for them. Evaluating both partners, guided by cycle charting, shows which condition is present. A plant extract answers symptoms until that diagnosis exists.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Introduction
Vitex agnus-castus, also called vitex is aboriginal to the Mediterranean region, with long leaves, tender stem, flowers and ripening seeds. The aim of this study was to overview premenstrual, postmenstrual and infertility disorder of Vitex agnus-castus.
Methods
This review article was carried out by searching studies in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and IranMedex databases. The initial search strategy identified about 87 references. In this study, 43 studies were accepted for further screening, and met all our inclusion criteria (in English, full text, therapeutic effects of Vitex agnus-castus and dated mainly from the year 2009 to 2016). The search terms were Vitex agnus-castus, premenstrual, postmenstrual, infertility disorder properties and pharmacological effects.
Result
Vitex agnus-castus was shown to contribute to the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Moreover, the result of the present study showed that this valuable plant is helpful in alleviation of pain resulting from postmenstrual disease. Furthermore, it was found that Vitex agnus-castus is beneficial in infertility disorder.
Conclusion
Vitex agnus-castus (AC) is a phytopharmaceutical compound and is shown to be widely used to treat PMS and PMDD. In addition, it was shown to be beneficial in post-menstrual cases and it can also contribute to treatment of infertility cases in both men and women. Dopaminergic compounds available in this plant help to treat premenstrual mastodynia as well as other symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome.
