The Effectiveness of Herbal Mixture Supplements with and without Clomiphene Citrate in Comparison to Clomiphene Citrate on Serum Antioxidants and Glycemic Biomarkers in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Willing to Be Pregnant: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

This paper aimed to evaluate the effect of herbal mixture (Mentha spicata, Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Citrus sinensis) only and along with clomiphene citrate (CC) compared to CC on serum antioxidants, glycemic status, menstrual regulation, and rate of pregnancy. This single-blind randomized clinical trial was carried out on 60 infertile participants with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) willing to be pregnant. They were randomly allocated into group 1 (n = 20) who received routine dose of CC pills (50–150 mg) for three menstrual cycles from the fifth day of menstruation for five days; group 2 (n = 20) who consumed herbal mixture daily (700 mg); and group 3 (n = 20) who used up herbal mixture along with CC for 3 months. Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured in their blood samples. No statistically significant differences were observed between the three groups in terms of socio-demographic characteristics. After intervention, however, the levels of CAT in group 2 (adjusted mean difference (aMD): = 9.0; confidence interval (CI) 95% = 1.1–16.9) and group 3 (aMD = 12.2; CI 95% = 4.5–19.9), GPx in group 2 (aMD = 986.1; CI 95% = 141.1–1831.1) and group 3 (aMD = 1781.2; CI 95% = 960.7–2601.8), and SOD in group 2 (aMD = 55.1; CI 95% = 26.0–84.2) increased. While FBS in group 3 (aMD = −8.7; CI 95% = −14.7 to −2.7), insulin in group 2 (aMD = −5.6; CI 95% = −10.8 to −0.4), and HOMA-IR in group 2 (aMD = −1.3; CI 95% = −2.4 to −0.2) significantly decreased compared to the group 1. To summarize, herbal mixture supplements along with CC have beneficial effects on serum antioxidant levels, as well as glycemic biomarkers of infertile PCOS, menstrual regulation, and pregnancy rate.

The Role of medicinal herbs in treatment of insulin resistance in patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A literature review

“…However, more side effects were observed in the metformin group compared to the cinnamon group. The ginger and cinnamon supplementation increase catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase levels [27]. Dou et al reported that Cinnamon supplementation decreased insulin resistance and improved the health status of patients with PCOS [28].…”

“…Another study investigated the effect of herbal mixture supplements including menthe, zingiber, and Cinnamomum with and without CC in PCOS women. They found that these supplements have important effects on the antioxidants levels, glycemic control, menstrual regulation, and pregnancy rate [27].…”

Application of Herbal Medicines for Obesity Treatment in the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Women

“…Metformin usage is associated with high dose of gastrointestinal adverse effects 13 . Apart from these, several herbal medicine studies have been documented in PCOS women 11,[14][15][16][17][18] .…”

The Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Associated Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

“…Herbal formula can improve reproductive dysfunctions, but at the same time, it has beneficial effects on balancing hormone status and menstrual frequency of PCOS that is also very intriguing [ 15 , 16 , 41 , 42 , 51 ]. Susan et al conducted a RCT of 122 patients; the results found that herbal formula adjuvant group recorded a reduction in oligomenorrhoea and other significant improvements such as pregnancy rates and quality of life compared with controls ( P < 0.01) in these overweight patients with PCOS [ 52 ].…”