The combination of “Pimpinella anisum, Apium graveolens and Crocus sativus (PAC)” is more effective than “mefenamic acid” on postpartum after-pain

This study aims to compare the analgesic effects of “a combination of Pimpinella anisum, Apium graveolens, and Crocus sativus (PAC)” with “mefenamic acid (MA)” on postpartum after-pain.This was a randomized clinical trial on 108 puerperal women aged 25.8 ± 5.5 years old. The participants were randomly divided into two groups of 54 users of PAC or MA (250 mg) PAC capsules 500) mg) contained dried powdered extracts of P. anisum (60.1 mg), A. graveolens (16.1 mg) and C. sativus (4.1 mg) (anise, celery and saffron, respectively) and additional lactose (419.7 mg). The capsules were administered every 6 h, up to 4 doses in 24 h.Using a visual analog scale (VAS) severity and duration of pain were measured and recorded before and 1 h after each dose of treatment. A questionnaire was developed to collect information about demographic characteristics of participants and side effects of the medicines.PAC and MA both significantly reduced severity of after-pain (Repeated Measure ANOVA; P < 0.05). A reduction of pain scores was significantly higher among PAC-users than MA-users (RM ANOVA; P < 0.05). Duration for starting pain-relief after use, was significantly shorter among PAC-users compared to MA-users (RM ANOVA; P = 0.01). In this study PAC was demonstrated to be an effective and safe alternative for the relief of postpartum pain.