Use of Botanical Ingredients Relevant to Premenstrual Symptoms and Dysmenorrhea Among Elite Female Athletes: Evidence from Doping Control Forms.
Granda D, Pokrywka A, Szmidt MK, Surała O, Jędrejko K, Lewandowska-Pachecka S et al. · Nutrients · 2026
Background: /
Objectives: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhea can impair training performance in female athletes. Botanical ingredients are commonly used to manage these conditions in the general population, but it is unknown whether elite female athletes do so. This study aimed to identify botanical ingredients evaluated in studies for PMS and dysmenorrhea and determine whether elite female athletes declared them on Doping Control Forms (DCFs).
Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted to identify botanical ingredients evaluated in studies for PMS and dysmenorrhea. Then, DCFs completed during routine anti-doping testing among elite athletes in Poland (2018-2023) were analyzed for declarations of these ingredients, both directly and as components of multi-ingredient products. The proportion of DCFs containing these ingredients was compared between female ( n = 4451 DCFs) and male athletes ( n = 9068 DCFs; reference) using chi-squared tests.
Results: The review identified 8 and 21 botanical ingredients with evidence for PMS and dysmenorrhea, respectively; of which 9 were detected in DCFs. The most commonly declared ingredients among female athletes were ginger and turmeric/curcuminoid (1.75% and 1.26%, respectively, both studied for PMS and dysmenorrhea). Chasteberry, on the other hand, with the most extensive, albeit low-confidence evidence, for PMS, was rarely declared (0.22%). Direct declaration of ginkgo, valerian, evening primrose oil, and chasteberry was significantly more common among female than male athletes (0.22% vs. 0.02%, 0.36% vs. 0.03%, 0.47% vs. 0.03%, 0.22% vs. 0.02%; adjusted p
Conclusions: Declarations of botanical ingredients studied for PMS and dysmenorrhea were infrequent on DCFs completed by female athletes. Because DCFs do not record the reason for use, these data cannot establish whether declarations reflected treatment of menstrual symptoms; studies assessing indication, symptom status and motivation are needed.