Phytotherapy of polycystic ovary syndrome: A review

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex heterogeneous disease with various symptoms, which can affect females of reproductive age. Endocrine and metabolic abnormalities such as infertility, being overweight or obese, type 2 diabetes, hyperandrogenism and increased luteinizing hormone (LH) are common in women with PCOS.


Objective: This review aimed to assess the efficacy of non-chemical and herbal substances for PCOS recovery.


Materials and Methods: The keywords “non-chemical treatment”, “herbal treatment”, “polycystic ovary syndrome” and “PCOS” were used to search for articles in the electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Reaxys, published from January 2009 to December 2019.


Results: 34 relevant studies were found and were briefly described in this review. The most effective herbal treatments in animal models of PCOS were used to restore abnormality in serum sex steroid profile, LH: follicle stimulating hormone ratio, steroidogenic enzymes, cardiovascular parameters, lipid profile, and glucose and estrous cycles. In PCOS patients, positive effects on PCOS due to reductions in testosterone, estrogen, LH, LH: follicle stimulating hormone ratio, and insulin levels were observed.


Conclusion: The results of this review revealed the variability and efficacy of phytotherapy and non-chemical treatments associated with PCOS disease. These findings may help future studies on the etiology and treatment of this syndrome.


Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Endocrine disorders, Phytotherapy.

References
[1] Franks S. Polycystic ovary syndrome. N Engl J Med 1995; 333: 853–861.

[2] Ihsan I, Tehreem A, Rasool S. Significance of TNF-alpha and insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Pakistan J Med Health Sci 2018; 12: 459–463.

[3] Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM-sponsored PCOS consensus workshop group. Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long-term health risks related to polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil Steril 2004; 81: 19–25.

[4] Walters KA, Rodriguez Paris V, Aflatounian A, Handelsman DJ. Androgens and ovarian function: Translation from basic diversity research to clinical impact. J Endocrinol 2019; 242: 23–50.

[5] Norman RJ, Dewailly D, Legro RS, Hickey TE. Polycystic ovary syndrome. Lancet 2007; 370: 685–697.

[6] Szczuko M, Zapalowska-Chwyc M, Drozd A, Maciejewska D, Starczewski A, Stachowska E. Effect of IGF-I and TNFa on intensification of steroid pathways in women with PCOS phenotypes are not identical: Enhancement of progesterone pathway in women with PCOS increases the concentration of TNF-a. Gynecol Endocrinol 2016; 32: 714– 717.

[7] Sabuncu T, Vural H, Harma M, Harma M. Oxidative stress in polycystic ovary syndrome and its contribution to the risk of cardiovascular disease. Clin Biochem 2001; 34: 407– 413.

[8] De Leo V, Musacchio MC, Cappelli V, Massaro MG, Morgante G, Petraglia F. Genetic, hormonal and metabolic aspects of PCOS: An update. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2016; 14: 38–54.

[9] Shao YY, Chang ZhP, Cheng Y, Wang XCh, Zhang JP, Feng XJ, et al. Shaoyao-gancao decoction alleviated hyperandrogenism in a letrozole-induced rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome by inhibition of NF-κB activation. Biosci Rep 2019; 39: BSR20181877.

[10] Mahood RAH. Effects of Pimpinella anisum oil extract on some biochemical parameters in mice experimentally induced for human polycystic ovary syndrome. J Biotech Res Centre 2012; 6: 67–73.

[11] Oyelami OA, Yusuf KO, Oyelami AO. The use of Kigelia africana in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Chinese Med 2012; 3: 1–3.

[12] Wei W, Zhao H, Wang A, Sui M, Liang K, Deng H, et al. A clinical study on the short-term effect of berberine in comparison to metformin on the metabolic characteristics of women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Eur J Endocrinol 2012; 166: 99–105.

[13] Cai L. Clinical treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome of combination use of Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan and berberine. Henan J Surg 2012; 18: 60–62.

[14] Wang Y. The clinical study on the effect of berberine combined with Cang-Fu-Dao-Tan decoction treating obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Guangzhuo Univ Chinese Med 2015.

[15] Karampoor P, Azarnia M, Mirabolghasemi Gh, Alizadeh F. [The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed on serum levels of sexual hormones in female Wistar rats with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)]. J Arak Univ Med Sci 2014; 17: 70–78. (in Persian)

[16] Thakor AP, Patel AJ. Normalizing of the oestrous cycle in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) induced rats with Tephrosia purpurea (Linn.) pers. J Appl Nat Sci 2014; 6: 197–201.

[17] Fatima Farzana K, Abubacker Sulaiman F, Ruckmani A, Vijayalakshmi K, Karunya Lakshmi G, Shri Ranjini S, et al. Effects of flax seeds supplementation in polycystic ovarian syndrome. Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res 2015; 31: 113–119.

[18] Kargar Jahromi H, Kargar L, Tavakol Koukhdan E, Shfiei Jahromi N, Poorgholami F, Rahmanian E, et al. The effect of pomegranate juice extract on hormonal changes of female Wistar rats caused by polycystic. Biomed Pharmacol J 2015; 8: 971–977.

[19] Poornima R, Saranya M, Bhuvaneshwari S, Averal HI. Evaluation of Pregularia daemia and metformin in the treatment of PCOS in testosterone propionate induced albino Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus). Int J Pharma Sci Res 2015; 6: 1250–1256.

[20] Bhuvaneshwari S, Poornima R, Averal HI. Comparative study of Pergularia daemia and Citrullus colocynthis in polycystic ovarian syndrome induced albino Wistar rats. Int J Multidisc Res Dev 2015; 2: 207–212.

[21] Swaroop A, Jaipuriar AS, Gupta SK, Bagchi M, Kumar P, Preuss HG, et al. Efficacy of a novel fenugreek seed extract (Trigonella foenum-graecum, furocyst TM) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Int J Med Sci 2015; 12: 825–831.

[22] Zare S, Nabiuni M, Tayanloo A, Hoseini S, Karimzadeh- Bardei L. The effects of Urtica dioica extract on lipid profile, insulin resistance index and liver histology in polycystic ovary syndrome-induced Wistar rats. Adv Herb Med 2015; 1: 23–33.

[23] Bergner P. Glycyrrhiza: Licorice root and testosterone. Med Herb 2016; 11: 11–12.

[24] Demirel MA, Ilhan M, Suntar I, Keles H, Akkol EK. Activity of Corylus avellana seed oil in letrozole-induced polycystic ovary syndrome model in rats. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia 2016; 26: 83–88.

[25] Karimi Jashni H, Karegar Jahromi H, Bagheri Z. The effect of palm pollen extracts on polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) in rats. Int J Med Res Health Sci 2016; 5: 317–321.

[26] Kavitha A, Babu AN, Kumar MS, Kiran SV. Evaluation of effect of Commiphora wightii in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) induced polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in rats. Pharm Tutor 2016; 4: 47–55.

[27] Radha MH, Laxmipriya NP. The role of Aloe barbadensis mill as a possible pre-conceptive herb for the management of polycystic ovarian syndrome: A rodent model study. Austin J Reprod Med Infertil 2016; 3: 1040–1048.

[28] Reddy PS, Begum N, Mutha S, Bakshi V. Beneficial effect of curcumin in letrozole induced polycystic ovary syndrome. Asian Pac J Reprod 2016; 5: 116–122.

[29] Suhaimi NA, Nooraain H, Nurdiana S. Effects of Ficus deltoidea ethanolic leaves extract on female reproductive organs among letrozole-induced polycystic ovarian syndrome rats. J Sci Res Dev 2016; 3: 8–14.

[30] Zhou J, Qu F, Barry JA, Pan JX, Wang FF, Fu Zh, et al. An Atractylodes macrocephala koidz extract alleviates hyperandrogenism of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Int J Clin Exp Med 2016; 9: 2758–2767.

[31] Dawane JS, Pandit V, Khade KS, Suryawanshi SP, Wele A, Pawar M, et al. Study the efficacy of herbal formulation Nisamalaki in animal model of polycystic ovarian disease syndrome. Ancient Sci Life 2017; 37: 86–93.

[32] Foroozandeh M, Hosseini SE. [Effects of metformin and ginger rhizome extract on the pituitary-gonad function in adult female rats with polycystic ovary syndrome]. Armaghane Danesh 2017; 22: 337–349. (in Persian)

[33] Rajan RK, Kumar SS, Balaji B. Soy isoflavones exert beneficial effects on letrozole-induced rat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) model through the antiandrogenic mechanism. Pharm Biol 2017; 55: 242–251.

[34] Dou L, Zheng Y, Li L, Gui X, Chen Y, Yu M, et al. The effect of cinnamon on polycystic ovary syndrome in a mouse model. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2018; 16: 99–108.

[35] Jahan S, Abid A, Khalid S, Afsar T, Ain QU, Shahee G, et al. Therapeutic potentials of quercetin in management of polycystic ovarian syndrome using letrozole induced rat model: A histological and a biochemical study. J Ovarian Res 2018; 11: 26–35.

[36] Lee YH, Yang H, Lee SR, Kwon SW, Hong EJ, Lee HW. Welsh onion root (Allium fistulosum) restores ovarian functions from letrozole induced-polycystic ovary syndrome. Nutrients 2018; 10: 1430–1443.

[37] Tahmasebi F, Movahedin M, Mazaheri Z. Antioxidant effects of Calligonum extract on ovarian tissue of PCO model: An experimental study. Int J Reprod Biomed 2018; 16: 641–648.

[38] Yang H, Lee SY, Lee SR, Pyun BJ, Kim HJ, Lee YH, et al. Therapeutic effect of Ecklonia cava extract in letrozoleinduced polycystic ovary syndrome rats. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9: 1325–1336.

[39] Yang H, Kim HJ, Pyun BJ, Lee HW. Licorice ethanol extract improves symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome in letrozole-induced female rats. Integr Med Res 2018; 7: 264–270.

[40] Kakadia N, Patel P, Deshpande S, Shah G. Effect of Vitex negundo L. seeds in letrozole induced polycystic ovarian syndrome. J Tradit Complement Med 2019; 9: 336–345.

[41] Miao M, Peng M, Zhu Z, Yan X, Wei Z, Li M. Effects of dodder total flavone on polycystic ovary syndrome rat models induced by DHEA combined HCG. Saudi J Biol Sci 2019; 26: 821–827.

[42] Ndeingang ECh, Deeh PBD, Watcho P, Kamanyi A. Phyllanthus muellerianus (euphorbiaceae) restores ovarian functions in letrozole-induced polycystic ovarian syndrome in rats. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2019; 2019: 2965821.

[43] Li MF, Zhou XM, Li XL. The effect of berberine on polycystic ovary syndrome patients with insulin resistance (PCOSIR): A meta-analysis and systematic review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2018; 2018: 2532935.

[44] Nyagolova PV, Mitkov MD, Orbetzova MM, Terzieva DD. Kisspeptin and galanin-like peptide (GALP) levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Int J Pharmaceut Med Res 2016; 4: 7–12.

[45] Binnetoglu EM, Erbag GO, Gencer M, Turkon HA, Asik ME, Gunes FA, et al. Plasma levels of nesfatin-1 in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Acta Medica Mediterranea 2014; 30: 201–204.

[46] Baranowska B, Radzikowska M, Wasilewska-Dziubinska E, Kaplinski K, Phonowski A. Neuropeptide Y, leptin, galanin and insulin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Gynecol Endocrinol 1999; 13: 344–351.

[47] Azin F, Khazali H. Neuropeptide galanin and its effects on metabolic and reproductive disturbances in female rats with estradiol valerate (EV)-induced polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Neuropeptides 2020; 80: 102026.