Guizhi Fuling Wan, a traditional herbal formula, can improve peripheral blood flow in menopausal hot flush sufferers, despite not changing the frequency or severity of the flushes.
The methodology used in this study involved a comprehensive literature search across 20 English and Chinese databases for relative clinical and experimental studies. From the nearly 13,000 studies identified, only 46 were evaluated as relevant and thus included in the review. These articles were comprised of seven clinical studies detailing Guizhi Fuling Wan's effects on menopausal hot flushes and 35 phytochemical analysis studies that identified the 169 chemical compounds in the herbal formula. Four experimental studies were also utilized to discover the potential therapeutic effects and target proteins/cytokines related to these hot flushes.
The findings indicate that Guizhi Fuling Wan, despite exhibiting no significant impact on the frequency or severity of menopausal hot flushes, may have positive effects on peripheral blood flow. The blood flow improvements were specifically noted in the fingertips, jaw, and toes. Additionally, the analysis of the herbal formula revealed 169 distinct chemical compounds. Through experimental studies, potential therapeutic effects on target proteins/cytokines - including estrogen receptor beta with genetic variation, the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor, and interleukin-8, were further highlighted. However, these therapeutic effects were inconsistent across different studies, which may be due to dosage differences and genotype variation.
