The special extract ERr 731 of the roots of Rheum rhaponticum decreases anxiety and improves health state and general well-being in perimenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the efficacy of the special extract ERr 731 from the roots of Rheum rhaponticum compared with placebo on anxiety, health state, and general well-being in perimenopausal women.

DESIGN

This study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, in which 109 perimenopausal women with climacteric complaints and anxiety received either 1 enteric coated tablet of ERr 731 (n=54) or placebo (n=55) daily for 12 weeks. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Menopause Rating Scale II, the Women's Health Questionnaire, and the Psychological General Well-Being Index were used to measure anxiety, health state, and subjective psychological well-being.

RESULTS

The results demonstrate that ERr 731 is highly effective in reducing anxiety in perimenopausal women compared with placebo. After 12 weeks, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale total score decreased significantly with ERr 731 (from 27.5+/-6.8 to 9.4+/-4.2 points) compared with placebo (from 25.1+/-6.0 to 21.6+/-8.6 points). ERr 731 also reduced the Hamilton Anxiety Scale factor scores for somatic and psychic anxiety. After 12 weeks, a reduction in the severity of anxiety from "moderate" or "severe" to "slight" was observed in 33 of 39 ERr 731 women completing the double-blind phase, which correlated well with the reduction in number and severity of hot flushes. This was reflected by a high rate of ERr 731 women reporting a marked improvement in health state and general well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

ERr 731 is an effective medication for women with menopause-related anxiety and improves their health state and general well-being.