A randomized, double-blind, multiple dose escalation study of the effect of the chinese herbal medicine preparation dang gui buxue tang on menopausal symptoms in Hong Kong Chinese women

Abstract

Many postmenopausal women are now using alternative or complementary medicines instead of standard menopausal hormone therapy. We have previously shown that the Chinese herbal preparation (Dang Gui Buxue Tang) (DBT) was superior to placebo in controlling mild vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal Chinese women. In the present study we examined the effect of different doses of this DBT preparation on vasomotor symptoms. This was a randomized, double-blind, multiple dose escalation study of the effect of the Chinese herbal medicine preparation Dang Gui Buxue Tang on vasomotor symptoms. The preparation was made in a ratio of 1:5 Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae) to Huangqi (Radix Astragali). Doses of 1.5 g, 3 g and 6 g were administered daily. Symptoms were assessed using the Greene Climacteric Scale and the vasomotor domain of the MENQOL. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive one of the three trial doses and were assessed at baseline and then at monthly intervals for 4 months. Using the Greene Climacteric Scale, hot flushes significantly decreased with the middle dose compared with baseline (P<0.01) and also compared with the other dose groups (P<0.01). Night sweats significantly decreased in both the middle and low dose groups compared with baseline (P<0.01). In the vasomotor domain of the MENQOL, hot flushes were significantly reduced in all groups, with the greatest effect being in the medium dose group (54%). For night sweats, there was a significant reduction in all dose groups, with the greatest effect also being in the medium dose group (47%). This study found that a dose of 3 g Dang Gui Buxue Tang daily was the most effective in reducing vasomotor symptoms. Vasomotor symptoms decreased by 30–50% in women using this preparation. We have now completed recruitment for this study and are awaiting the final results.