Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat the condition for hundreds of years and women are increasingly looking for non-drug treatments. One recent survey involving 39 trials — 36 in China, and one each in Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands– has reported interesting findings.
Participants given herbal concoctions were prescribed herbs that regulated their ‘qi’ (energy) and blood, warmed their bodies and boosted their kidney and liver functions. Some of these include Chinese angelica root (danggui), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), red peony root (chishao), white peony root (baishao), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), fennel fruit (huixiang), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), liquorice root (gancao) and cinnamon bark (rougui).