The Effects of Peppermint on Menstrual Disorders: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Various aspects of women's functioning are affected by menstrual disorders. There are various treatment methods to control these conditions. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects of peppermint on menstrual disorders.

A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, SID, and Google Scholar without any limitations until July 31, 2023. To identify those studies that were consistent with the main purpose of this review, the search focused on the keywords "menstruation disorders," "Mentha piperita," and their other synonyms in the title and abstract of the articles. Methodological quality was assessed using the Jadad scale.

A total of 238 articles were retrieved. After removing duplicates and irrelevant studies, 146 articles remained. After evaluating the titles and abstracts, the full text of the remaining eight articles was evaluated. At this stage, one article was excluded due to being in the Malay language, and two articles were excluded due to the use of water mint species. Finally, five Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) with a total of 499 participants were included. The quality rating of the included trials indicates that three studies were of high quality, and two studies were of low quality. The studies examined primary dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome. Statistically significant reductions in pain severity, improved cognitive function, and gastrointestinal symptoms were observed.

The findings suggest that peppermint may be effective in improving menstrual disorders. However, high-quality RCTs that overcome the methodological limitations of the current studies are needed.