Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is the most common gynecological disease in women of childbearing age. Xiaoyao powder is a classical traditional Chinese medicine prescription for the treatment of PD. In order to clarify the effect of Xiaoyao powder on the endocrine level and the potential mechanism of efficacy, PD patients were included in the present study, and the changes of female hormone level and uterine morphology before and after treatment were assessed and compared. The morphological changes of the uterus were measured by color Doppler technique, the serum endocrine indicators included the serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), etc., and the efficacy indicators included the visual analog scale (VAS) of pain and the Cox menstrual symptom scale (CMSS). The results found that the serum E2 level, uterine anterior-posterior diameter, endometrial thickness, VAS, and CMSS were significantly lower than those before the treatment, while the serum P level was significantly higher . There was a positive correlation between serum E2 and uterine anterior-posterior diameter, and a negative correlation between serum P and endometrial thickness, correlations between serum P, E2 and VAS, CMSS were also found. It suggests that Xiaoyao Powder has a definite effect on PD, which can reduce the uterine anterior-posterior diameter and endometrial thickness of PD patients, and improve the symptoms and duration of dysmenorrhea by adjusting E2 and P levels.

primary dysmenorrhea  /  Xiaoyao powder  /  estrogen  /  progesterone  /  endometrial thickness