---
title: Does damask rose help reduce menstrual pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating?
description: Damask rose significantly reduced menstrual-related headache, fatigue, and bloating, but did not clearly reduce menstrual pain or anxiety. More research on pa
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-rosa-damascena-damask-rose-on-menstruation-related-pain-headache-2021/
---

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- Does damask rose help reduce menstrual pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating?

Systematic review, 2021

# Does damask rose help reduce menstrual pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating?

Damask rose significantly reduced menstrual-related headache, fatigue, and bloating, but did not clearly reduce menstrual pain or anxiety. More research on pain and anxiety is needed.

 Strong study design

Females aged 18-35 years with primary dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain) or premenstrual syndrome.

## What they did

They did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials testing damask rose as aromatherapy, topical treatment, or oral intake against placebo or no treatment for menstrual symptoms. They searched 7 databases and one search engine from inception to January 2021. Seven studies met their criteria.

## What they found

The trials included 276 women in treatment groups and 272 women in comparison groups, aged 18-35 years. Damask rose did not significantly reduce menstrual pain. It also did not significantly reduce anxiety. However, it significantly reduced menstrual-related headache, fatigue, and bloating.

## What it means for you

Damask rose may help with some menstrual symptoms but not others. It could be worth trying for headache, fatigue, and bloating, but more research is needed on pain and anxiety using different doses and treatment lengths. The main limitations are the small number of studies, different methods used in the trials, and the overall small sample size.

7

trials included

276

women in treatment groups

272

women in comparison groups

## About the study

Original title Effects of Rosa damascena (Damask rose) on menstruation-related pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Authors Koohpayeh SA, Hosseini M, Nasiri M et al. Journal Journal of education and health promotion Year 2021 Study design Systematic review What was tested Rosa damascena (damask rose) as aromatherapy, topical treatment, or oral intake. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_18_21](https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_18_21)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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