<b>Natural Relief for Perimenopause: Efficacy and Safety of Shatavari (</b><b><i>Asparagus racemosus</i></b><b>) Root Extract in a Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study</b>

Background: Perimenopause is characterized by hormonal changes and symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings that affect women’s quality of life. Due to concerns about conventional treatments, many women seek plant-based alternatives. Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus[sp1] [DL2] [sp3] ), a key herb in Ayurveda, is traditionally used for hormonal regulation and may help effectively relieve these symptoms. Objective: Evaluate the efficacy and safety of 8-week oral administration of Shatavari root extract 300mg once daily in women with perimenopausal symptoms. Methods: This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 120 women were screened, and 80 were randomized to receive either Shatavari (SHT; n=40) and placebo (PL; n=40). The final analysis included a per-protocol dataset of 73 participants (SHT: n=37, PL: n=36). Assessments were conducted at baseline, week 4, and week 8 using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MEN-QoL) scale, Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Serum hormones levels and safety markers were measured at baseline and week 8. Results: Shatavari demonstrated significant improvements in MRS, POMS, and PSS scores across somato-vegetative, psychological, and urogenital domains (p &lt; 0.0001). Additionally, it showed enhancements in fatigue (p = 0.019), vigor (p = 0.021), and stress reductions at week 4 (p = 0.010) and week 8 (p &lt; 0.0001). Hot flashes improved significantly more (p = 0.002) with SHT. Estradiol (p = 0.003), FSH (p = 0.028) levels, T3 (p = 0.021) levels increased with no adverse effects observed on liver or kidney function. Conclusion: Shatavari may be an effective and safe natural intervention for treatment of perimenopausal symptoms. [sp1]Need to clarify.. Is it asparagus racemosus willd or only asparagus racemosus [DL2]Only AR [sp3]Okay