Menopausal Symptoms

Hamed Delam et al. (2023) · BMC complementary medicine and therapies

This randomized controlled trial of 72 postmenopausal women in Iran asked a simple question: does drinking saffron tea every day make women feel happier? Menopause marks the end of menstruation and fertility, and falling estrogen levels combined with changes in family roles and aging are linked in the paper to low mood, anxiety and depression. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), a spice from the dried stigmas of a purple crocus flower, contains crocin and safranal, compounds that laboratory work suggests affect the brain chemicals dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, which govern mood and motivation. The 72 women, averaging about 54 years old, were recruited through community health centers in Larestan, Iran, in 2021 and randomly placed into two groups of 36. One group drank a cup of saffron tea each morning for six weeks, made by steeping 30 mg of dried stigmas in 300 ml of hot water and served with white rock candy. The comparison group drank lukewarm water with rock candy. Happiness was measured with the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, a 29-item survey scored from 29 to 116, at the start and after two, four and six weeks. Both groups began at almost the same level (about 43 points). The saffron group climbed steadily to 51.4 after two weeks, 55.5 after four weeks and 61.6 after six weeks (a rise of roughly 19 points, p < 0.001, meaning the change is very unlikely to be chance). The water group did not move, ending at 42.8 (p = 0.861, no real change). The gap between groups at week six was statistically significant (p < 0.001), and it held after the researchers adjusted for demographic variables. The paper does not report any side effects data, only that the dose was small. The authors suggest saffron tea may be useful as a complementary approach alongside conventional care. The study has clear limits: participants knew which drink they received, happiness was self-reported, only 72 women from one region took part, the trial lasted six weeks, and it overlapped with a COVID-19 wave in Iran. Depression was not measured directly, and how saffron might produce the effect was not tested. The authors recommend larger trials in other populations and research into the mechanism.

Hong Xu et al. (2024) · Menopause (New York, N.Y.)

This meta-analysis pooled 11 randomized trials testing whether mind-body exercise programs, including tai chi, yoga, Pilates, qigong, and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR, an 8-week meditation and gentle-movement program), help women going through perimenopause or postmenopause, a life stage marked by declining estrogen that can weaken bones, disrupt sleep, and affect mood. These practices pair physical movement with controlled breathing and present-moment attention, offering a non-drug alternative for women wary of hormone therapy's cancer-risk profile. The review combined 11 trials from six countries, involving just over 1,000 women, comparing mind-body exercise groups against women who continued their normal daily activities without a structured exercise program. The trials varied widely, from 6-week programs to a full year, and used five different practices, so results were combined statistically using methods that account for this variety. Across the pooled data, mind-body exercise meaningfully helped on every measure studied: bone density improved (drawing on Pilates and tai chi trials), sleep quality improved (drawing on Pilates, yoga, qigong, and MBSR trials), and both anxiety and depression symptoms dropped substantially (also drawing on that same four-practice group), while fatigue eased too. The anxiety and depression improvements were the largest effects seen, though the studies contributing to them varied considerably in their findings (a statistical marker called heterogeneity was high), meaning some trials showed much bigger benefits than others. Taken together, the findings support mind-body exercise as a safe, reasonable option for managing the physical and emotional challenges of the menopause transition, giving women another evidence-based choice beyond hormone therapy. Because the analysis pooled several different practices together rather than testing each one separately with its own effect size, it shows that mind-body exercise as a category helps, without pinpointing exactly how much benefit comes from any one specific practice like yoga versus tai chi. The individual trials were also generally small and only partially blinded, since exercise programs are hard to disguise from participants.

Norka Ulloa Del Carpio et al. (2024) · Frontiers in pharmacology

This 2024 review pulled together the science on maca (Lepidium meyenii), an Andean root long eaten as food and used as a traditional remedy. Maca's chemical makeup varies with the plant's ecotype, growing conditions, and processing, giving rise to a complex mix of bioactive compounds called macamides, macaenes, and glucosinolates. Rather than running one new experiment, the authors gathered evidence from lab studies, animal research, and human clinical trials to map out what science currently knows, and does not yet know, about maca's effects and safety. Because this is a literature review rather than a single study, there is no one group of participants or one experimental design to describe. Instead, the authors drew on a mix of test-tube studies, rodent experiments, and human trials identified across the maca research, including safety data submitted for the United States Pharmacopeia's evaluation of maca as a dietary ingredient for the National Formulary, covering root powder, gelatinized powder, and various purified extracts sold as supplements. The review's central finding is that maca appears to act as an adaptogen (a substance that helps the body handle stress) by influencing the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (the body's central stress-response system), likely through macamide compounds working via serotonin and cannabinoid-receptor pathways. Lab and animal studies point to neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects, including in models of prostate enlargement and lung and liver inflammation. In humans, the review describes maca research as concentrated on sexual health, with reported improvements in sexual desire, erectile function, and general wellbeing in men, plus some evidence for easing menopausal symptoms in women and improving physical performance, though the review does not provide the specific numbers behind these findings. Safety testing found generally low toxicity, though a small number of people reported side effects such as stomach upset, headache, and irritability, and rare reports of vaginal bleeding or a manic episode. The authors are candid that inconsistent study designs, doses, and treatment lengths across the maca research make results hard to compare directly, and they call for more standardized studies to pin down maca's mechanisms and confirm its benefits before firmer guidance can be offered. This review is best read as a map of where maca's promising leads are, especially sexual health and neuroprotection, rather than as proof of any specific effect on any one condition.