The Effect of Short-term Treatment with Fennel on Lipid Profile in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Maliheh Afiat; Elham Amini; Masumeh Ghazanfarpour; Bahareh Nouri; Mahsa Sadat Mousavi; Masoudeh Babakhanian; Hassan Rakhshandeh

doi:10.6118/jmm.2018.24.1.29

The Effect of Short-term Treatment with Fennel on Lipid Profile in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

J Menopausal Med. 2018 Apr;24(1):29-33. doi: 10.6118/jmm.2018.24.1.29. Epub 2018 Apr 30.

Authors

Maliheh Afiat¹, Elham Amini², Masumeh Ghazanfarpour³, Bahareh Nouri⁴, Mahsa Sadat Mousavi⁵, Masoudeh Babakhanian⁶, Hassan Rakhshandeh⁷

Affiliations

¹ Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Health Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
² Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Evidence-Based Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Department of Medical Science, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁵ Department of Midwifery, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
⁶ Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
⁷ Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Objectives: The present trial aimed to assess the effects of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) on lipid profiles.

Methods: In this double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial, sixty eligible postmenopausal women were randomly assigned into the fennel and placebo groups. Total blood cholesterol, cholesterol fractions, and triglycerides were tested at the baseline, and after three-month follow-up.

Results: There was no significant difference in triglyceride (P = 0.679), total cholesterol (P = 0.103), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; P = 0.146) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; P = 0.266) levels between the two groups. In addition, in both groups, a paired t.test showed no significant difference in all mentioned parameters, except for HDL-C, indicating significant borderline improvement (P = 0.052) in the fennel group.

Conclusions: The fennel group revealed a very slight positive change in LDL-C, triglyceride and HDL-C. Further studies with longer durations, higher doses, and larger sample sizes are recommended to validate the results.

Keywords: Foeniculum; Lipids; Postmenopause.