The effect of Melissa officinalis on premenstrual syndrome and primary dysmenorrhea in women of reproductive age: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhea are prevalent disabling conditions and affecting the quality of life of women in reproductive age. Melissa officinalis exhibits multiple pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, analgesic, and antidepressant activities. Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically review the effect of Melissa officinalis on PMS and primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: A systematic search in English (Embase ،PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Clininaltrial.gov, Cochrane Library), and Persian (SID, Magiran, Iran Doc) databases to find articles were done in May 2020. All types of clinical trials were included. Two authors independently conducted the selection of articles and quality assessment and also extracted data. Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) was described as a measure of effect size due to the application of multiple tools to measure the severity of PMS. The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Results: A total of 978 articles were obtained from databases. Ultimately, 7 articles were included in the study. Based on the results of these 7 studies, the consumption of Melissa officinalis improves the symptoms of PMS and primary dysmenorrhea after treatment, as compared to the control group. Also, from the meta-analysis results, the consumption of Melissa officinalis in the intervention group as compared to the control group, significantly reduces the mean severity of PMS's symptoms following treatment )SMD: -0.93; 95% CI: -.19 to -0.67; P=0. 88; I2=0%). Conclusion: Due to the limited number of articles included in the meta-analysis, conducting well-designed clinical trials with large sample size to ascertain the effect of Melissa officinalis on PMS and primary dysmenorrhea, are recommended.