CITRUS THERAPY CONTROLLING THE MENSTRUAL FLOW
The excessive blood loss during the menstrual period might affect quality of life and can lead to medical problems. There are clinical reports suggesting that it is possible to reduce menstrual flow using lemon juice. Probably the bioactive components with anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictor properties such as flavonoids, diosmin, hesperidin, coumarins and synephrine act on reducing menstrual flow and colics. However, as these implications were still not confirmed, the objective became the evaluation of the citrus Phytotherapy’s capacity to reduce menstrual flow and the collateral effects associated with its use. Then 47 women, between 18 and 40 years old, were selected to answer two questionnaires. The first questionnaire was administered before using citrus therapy to evaluate the baseline characteristics of the menstrual cycle. The second questionnaire was administered after the use of one Tahiti lemon juice per day, during the first three days of menstrual flow and three consecutive menstrual cycles, to evaluate phytotherapeutic effects in the cycle duration, intensity of menstrual flow, occurrence of cramps and reduction of the presence of clots. Results showed significant reduction in the duration of the menstrual flow in 23% of the participants and in the intensity of menstrual flow in 72% of them, reduction of the presence of clots in 43% of them and complete disappearance of dysmenorrheal, in 21% of the women after citrus therapy. Therefore, we conclude that the citrus therapy was able to promote the reduction of unfavorable effects associated with the menstrual cycle