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Aims The aim of the present study was to examine the safety and efficacy of a formulated Ayurvedic botanical combination in reducing vasomotor and other menopause-associated symptoms in otherwise healthy women. Methods This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted with 117 healthy women, aged 40 to 65 years using a formulated Ayurvedic medicine composed of 75 mg Tinospora Cardifolia, 100 mg Asparagus racemosus, 100 mg Withania somnifera and 225 mg Commiphora mukul per capsule, administered as one capsule twice per day over a period of 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was menopausal symptoms assessed by the validated Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire. The secondary outcome measures included a patient-reported diary of vasomotor symptoms, serum hormone levels and health indices (body weight, blood pressure, haematological and biochemistry markers). Results A significant difference was demonstrated for the total MENQOL score and the vasomotor (p < 0.001), psychosocial (p < 0.001), physical (p = 0.02) and sexual domains (p < 0.001) between the active treatment and placebo groups after 12 weeks. There was a significant reduction in total hot flushes, daytime hot flushes and night sweats in the active treatment group compared to the placebo group (p ≤ 0.001). There were no significant changes observed in serum hormone levels or health indices between the active and the placebo group. Conclusion This study demonstrated a combination of Tinospora cardifolia, Asparagus racemosus, Withania somnifera and Commiphora mukul to be a safe and effective treatment for reducing menopausal symptoms in healthy menopausal women over a duration of 12 weeks.

Luis Vitetta,1 Samantha Coulson,1 Janet Schloss,1 Shoshannah L Beck,1 Robert Allen,2 Avni Sali21Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine, The University of Queensland School of Medicine, Brisbane, 2National Institute of Integrative Medicine, Melbourne, AustraliaAbstract: Dietary interventions can assist with the management of disease symptoms that accompany rheumatoid arthritis (RA), such as pain, tender swollen joints, stiffness, and associated disability and disease progression. Dietary interventions have gained widespread appeal for both clinicians and RA patients. Interventions that promote self-help through education can have significant benefits for patients as they negotiate pain and musculoskeletal disability. There is substantial scientific evidence that demonstrates patients diagnosed with RA may benefit from dietary interventions; however, recent systematic reviews remain uncertain about the therapeutic efficacy of dietary manipulation for RA due to clinical trials with a high risk of bias. However, dietary interventions with plausible therapeutic activity may be indicated for reducing RA-associated symptoms, including elimination of foods that may trigger an allergic or intolerant response, introduction of known anti-inflammatory dietary compounds and correction of food, or drug-induced gastrointestinal tract microbiota abnormalities and permeability.Keywords: diet, rheumatoid arthritis, vegetarian, vegan, Mediterranean, fish oils, probiotics