Insights of traditional Persian medicine to polycystic ovary syndrome and its management

Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) takes a holistic approach towards human health. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Common available treatments are suboptimal for this problem. It mainly represents itself by prolonged menstrual cycle intervals, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia [1]. The extant written documents of TPM contain a list of herbal medications used for centuries. Before further experimental research on any of these treatments, it is appropriate to study current related scientific evidence on their possible pharmacological actions [2]. This work aims to study PCOS and their herbal treatments in TPM. To collect data from medieval medicinal texts, six of the most famous TPM manuscripts were studied. Herbs which were involved in the treatment of prolonged intervals of menstrual bleeding were listed. Their authentications were confirmed. PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched for related pharmacological activities of the medicinal plants reported. Forty herbs in TPM books for the treatment of this problem were found. The majority of these herbs exhibited anti-hyperglycaemic (90%) and anti-dyslipidaemic (77.5%) effects. The effect of some of these were studied on ovulation induction and 27.5% had shown positive effects. It could be concluded that ancient physicians not only wanted to treat the irregular menstrual cycle but also their treatment options were aimed at ameliorating the related underlying metabolic dysfunctions. The recommended herbs, which have the most scientific proof for their related actions, can be studied further in experimental analyses.

[1] Celik, O. and O. Acbay, J Endocrinol Invest, 2012. 35: 905 – 10

[2] Hosseinkhani, A, et al, JEBCAM, 2017. 22: 334 – 343.