The Effect of Short-term Treatment with Fennel on Bone Density in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

J Menopausal Med. 2017 Aug;23(2):124-130. doi: 10.6118/jmm.2017.23.2.124. Epub 2017 Aug 31. Ghazanfarpour M1, Amini E2, Khadivzadeh T2, Babakhanian M3, Nouri B4, Rakhshandeh H5, Afiat M6. Author information 1 Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Nursing and Midwifery School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. 2 Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. 3 Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran. 4 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. 5 Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. 6 Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Health Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Abstract OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to assess the effect of fennel on bone density. METHODS: This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, which studied sixty eligible postmenopausal women, who were randomly assigned to fennel and placebo groups. Then, the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was utilized to measure bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of the spine, femoral neck, intertrochanter, and trochanter at the baseline and after three-month follow-up. RESULTS: The mean BMD and BMC at lumbar spine (P = 0.14, P = 0.504), total hip femoral (P = 0.427, P = 0.471), trochanter (P = 0.075, P = 0.07), intertrochanter, (P = 0.864, P = 0.932) and femoral neck (P = 0.439, P = 0.641) was not significantly different between the fennel and placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study did not approve the effect of fennel on bone density in post-menopausal women. However, to gain deeper insights, further studies with longer durations and larger sample sizes are recommended. KEYWORDS: Bone density; Foeniculum; Postmenopause PMID: 28951861 PMCID: PMC5606910 DOI: 10.6118/jmm.2017.23.2.124 Free PMC Article