The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) said on the 16th that a research team led by Dr. Park Gi-seon of the Oriental Medicine Science Research Division confirmed that an extract of the native plant "haeguk" alleviates dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain).
Menstrual pain is classified as primary or secondary depending on the cause. Primary dysmenorrhea is lower abdominal pain that recurs during menstruation due to excessive uterine muscle contractions without a distinct disease. In contrast, secondary dysmenorrhea appears in women with anovulatory cycles and mainly occurs due to problems in the pelvis.
Haeguk is a member of the Asteraceae family that grows naturally on coastal cliffs and beaches in Korea, and it blooms purple flowers in autumn, so it is also called "gaetgukhwa." Since ancient times, it has been highly valued for medicinal use thanks to its strong vitality growing in sea winds. The results of this study were published on the 12th (local time) in the international journal in the field of inflammation research, "Mediators of Inflammation."
The research team identified through animal and cell experiments that haeguk extract inhibits a key pathway of inflammatory signal transduction (NF-κB/COX-2), thereby regulating uterine muscle contractions and reducing pain.
When haeguk extract was administered to mice induced with primary dysmenorrhea, the number of writhing pain behaviors decreased by about 50%. Abnormally contracted uterine morphology returned to normal levels, and the expression of inflammatory proteins and the production of reactive oxygen species were also reduced by about half.
The research team said, "Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are widely used to treat primary dysmenorrhea, raise concerns about side effects such as gastrointestinal disorders or kidney damage, so there is a need for natural product–based therapeutic alternatives with fewer side effects."
Dr. Park Gi-seon said, "Haeguk extract shows both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, so it has strong potential as a nature-derived alternative therapy that can complement the limitations of existing treatments," adding, "We plan to verify the safety and efficacy of haeguk extract through future clinical studies and pursue the development of health functional foods or natural product–based therapeutics."
References
Mediators of Inflammation (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/mi/1654087