---
title: Does Xiangshao granules reduce irritability and anxiety in PMDD?
description: In rats with PMDD-like symptoms, Xiangshao granules reduced aggressive and anxiety-like behaviors and improved social skills. This was only tested in animals,
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/xiangshao-granules-reduce-the-aggressive-behavior-and-hippocampal-injury-of-2023/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does Xiangshao granules reduce irritability and anxiety in PMDD?

Lab study, 2023

# Does Xiangshao granules reduce irritability and anxiety in PMDD?

In rats with PMDD-like symptoms, Xiangshao granules reduced aggressive and anxiety-like behaviors and improved social skills. This was only tested in animals, not in women.

 Early or limited evidence

Female rats with PMDD-like behavior

## What they did

Researchers created PMDD-like symptoms in female rats using social isolation and stress. They treated some rats with Xiangshao granules (a herbal medicine) and measured aggressive behavior, anxiety, and changes in the hippocampus (a brain region).

## What they found

The granules reduced aggressive and anxiety-like behaviors and improved social interaction. They also reduced the death of brain cells in the hippocampus and lowered the expression of certain genes related to stress.

## What it means for you

This herbal medicine appears to help with PMDD symptoms by affecting how genes are expressed in the brain. The main limitation is that this study was done in rats, not in women with PMDD.

## About the study

Original title Xiangshao Granules reduce the aggressive behavior and hippocampal injury of premenstrual irritability in rats by regulating JIK/JNK/p38 signal pathway Authors Li S, Mu X, Ma S et al. Journal Journal of ethnopharmacology Year 2023 Study design Lab study What was tested Xiangshao granules (herbal medicine) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2022.116061](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2022.116061)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[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.

## Related studies

Randomised trial, 1995

Does fluoxetine help premenstrual dysphoria?

Study, 2026

What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

Randomised trial, 2021

Does ulipristal acetate help premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

Cohort study, 2020

Are women with PMDD more likely to have generalized anxiety disorder?

Randomised trial, 2017

Does Sepranolone reduce symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome (PMDD)?

Case-control study, 2014

Are reward and punishment sensitivity different in women with PMDD and related to hormone levels?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗