The effects of red clover on hot flushes in post-menopausal women

Introduction: Hot flushing is one of the most common symptoms related to menopause which can lead to sleep deprivation, physical and psychological tiredness and disturbances in interpersonal relationships. In the recent years, tendency and desire toward alternative treatments, especially phytoestrogens, in relieving this symptom have been increased. Considering that red clover is the rich source of phytoestrogens, the present study investigated the effect of red clover on hot flushes in post-menopausal women. Methods: This was a clinical randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial. 72 eligible menopausal women after two weeks of monitoring and determination of baseline severity of hot flushes, were randomized blindly to receive either placebo or 45 mg of red clover isoflavones capsules for eight weeks. Hot flushes were recorded weekly by the study subjects via using hot flushes severity of Kupperman Menopause Index (KMI). Mann-Whitney and Friedman tests were used for between and within the groups' comparisons in frequency of hot flushes. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18. Results: A total of 55 women completed the study, 28 subjects in the red clover and 27 in the placebo group. In both of the study groups, the frequency of hot flushes had a significant difference at the end of the second, sixth and tenth weeks (P=0.001). At the end of the 10th week, there was a significant difference in frequency of hot flashes between the groups (P=0.04). Conclusion: Generally, the present study showed that red clover supplementation had desirable and significant effects on hot flushing.