The Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Capsule on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats in Postmenopausal Women: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objectives Menopause is associated with complications that could decline women's health during this period. Therefore, some of its complications, such as hot flashes and night sweats, must be treated or alleviated. Methods This randomized controlled trial included postmenopausal women who were referred to health centers in Hamadan from May 2018 to April 2019. The hot flash and night sweat questionnaires were completed by the researcher a week before and 8 weeks after the intervention. The intervention group took one capsule (1,000 mg) of evening primrose oil twice daily, while the control group received the same amount of placebo. Finally, the results were analyzed using Stata 13. Results The mean scores of duration, frequency, and severity of hot flashes did not significantly decrease in both groups after the intervention compared with before the intervention, and no statistically significant difference was observed ( P > 0.05). However, the intervention group had lower frequency and severity of night sweats after the intervention than the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05). Conclusion Evening primrose oil effectively decreased the frequency and severity of night sweats.

Dietary Supplement Intake and Fecundability in a Singapore Preconception Cohort Study

“…Evening primrose oil, a form of plant phytoestrogen that resembles vertebrate steroid oestrogen [ 52 , 53 , 54 ], is commonly used as an alternative therapy for a multitude of ailments [ 55 ]. However, many studies on the clinical implications of evening primrose oil are preliminary and have notable methodological flaws [ 52 ].…”

The role of diet in managing menopausal symptoms: A narrative review

“…Polyphenols (Enokuchi et al, 2020;Taher et al, 2013;Terauchi et al, 2014) and botanical supplements, such as St John's Wort (Liu et al, 2014), evening primrose oil (Farzaneh et al, 2013;Kazemi et al, 2021), sage (Bommer et al, 2011), milk thistle (Saberi et al, 2020), ginseng (Lee et al, 2016(Lee et al, , 2022 and combined botanical supplements (Rattanatantikul et al, 2022) have been explored. Despite some studies reporting positive results, concerns about methodology, study heterogeneity and insufficient large-scale interventions mean it is not possible to conclude whether a causal relationship exists for reducing VMS.…”

Use of dietary supplements to alleviate vasomotor symptoms among menopausal women

“…18 Phytoestrogens have minimal side effects and can be obtained by adding soyrich foods to a balanced diet. [16][17][18] Table . Complementary and integrative health supplements 16,17,19,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]33,34,36,39,42,43…”

“…Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a botanical with anti-inflammatory properties. 33,34 It contains high levels of essential fatty acids such as omega-6 fatty acids and gamma-linolenic acid. 33,34 For many years, Native Americans utilized the anti-inflammatory effects of evening primrose for dermal treatments, GI issues, and sore throats.…”