--- title: Does St. John's Wort or vitamin B6 treat premenstrual syndrome better than placebo? description: Both St. John's Wort and vitamin B6 reduced PMS symptoms more effectively than placebo. St. John's Wort reduced symptoms by 40%, vitamin B6 by 38%, and placeb url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hypericum-perforutum-and-vitamin-b6-as-a-treatment-for-premenstrual-syndrome-2016/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does St. John's Wort or vitamin B6 treat premenstrual syndrome better than placebo? Randomised trial, 2016 # Does St. John's Wort or vitamin B6 treat premenstrual syndrome better than placebo? Both St. John's Wort and vitamin B6 reduced PMS symptoms more effectively than placebo. St. John's Wort reduced symptoms by 40%, vitamin B6 by 38%, and placebo by 29%. Moderate study design 238 women in Iran with moderate to severe premenstrual syndrome attending a hospital gynecology clinic. ## What they did A double-blind randomized controlled trial with 238 women with PMS in Iran. Women tracked their symptoms for 2 months before being randomly assigned to one of three groups. One group took St. John's Wort tablets (containing 330 µg hypericin), one took vitamin B6 tablets (40 mg), and one took placebo. All took their assigned treatment from day 1 to day 30 of their menstrual cycle for two cycles. ## What they found The average symptom score decreased by 40% in the St. John's Wort group, by 38% in the vitamin B6 group, and by 29% in the placebo group. All three groups showed significant improvement compared to their starting point. The St. John's Wort and vitamin B6 groups showed significantly more improvement than placebo. ## What it means for you Both St. John's Wort and vitamin B6 are effective treatments for moderate to severe PMS and are well tolerated. They work similarly well. However, this study was conducted in Iran in one hospital setting, so results may not apply in other countries or settings. The notable improvement with placebo (29%) is common in PMS studies. 40% Symptom reduction with St. John's Wort 38% Symptom reduction with vitamin B6 29% Symptom reduction with placebo ## About the study Original title Hypericum perforutum and Vitamin B6 as a Treatment for Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Masumeh Ghazanfarpour, Somayeh Abdolahian, Talat Khadivzadeh et al. Journal Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products Year 2016 Study design Randomised trial What was tested St. John's Wort (330 µg hypericin), vitamin B6 (40 mg), or placebo for 2 menstrual cycles. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.5812/jjnpp.34093](https://doi.org/10.5812/jjnpp.34093) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)[Vitamin B6](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-vitamin-b6/) 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. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2025 Which is more effective for PMS - Vitagnus, soy, or both together? Systematic review, 2013 Does Vitex (chaste tree) help PMS and PMDD symptoms? Systematic review, 2009 Which herbs, vitamins and minerals help treat PMS? Systematic review, 2007 What treatments work for premenstrual syndrome? Randomised trial, 2003 What complementary and alternative medicines help with women's reproductive health issues? Randomised trial, 2000 Which dietary supplements help PMS? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗