The Effectiveness of Phalleria Macrocarpa Bioactive Fraction in Alleviating Endometriosis And/or Adenomyosis Related Pain

The overexpression of estrogen receptor-beta (ER-ß) and the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme coupled with the absence of expression of progesterone receptors (PR) is critical to thepathogenesis of endometriosis and adenomyosis associated pain.  DLBS1442, a novel bioactiveextract of Phaleria macrocarpa, exerts its action by downregulating the overexpressed ER-ß andCOX-2 products and up-regulating PR gene expression. This pilot study was conducted to evaluatethe effectiveness of DLBS1442 treatment in alleviating endometriosis- and/or adenomyosis-relatedpain. Ten endometriosis and/or adenomyosis patients were recruited consecutively at YasminClinic Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in January - March 2013. Pain associated withmenses, including pre-menstrual pain, dysmenorrhea, dyschezia and dysuria, was measuredusing the visual analog scale (VAS) at each of the next three menstrual cycles. Patients reportingone or more pain symptoms with a VAS score = 4 were given 100 mg of DLBS1442 three timesdaily for 12 weeks. VAS score reduction was noted in the first post-treatment menstrual cycle(approximately 5.3 weeks after treatment initiation) and VAS scores continued to decline overthe final two cycles. DLBS1442 was effective in alleviating endometriosis- and/ or adenomyosisrelatedpain, as demonstrated by early pain reduction as evaluated using the VAS