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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Effect of Eurycoma longifolia water extract (Physta®) on menopausal quality of life and mood states
Subashini Muniandy, Hanis Mastura Yahya, Suzana Shahar, Ixora Kamisan Atan, Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy, Nor Fadilah Rajab, Hanif Farhan Mohd Rasdi, Annie George, Sasikala M Chinnappan
Subashini Muniandy, Suzana Shahar, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Hanis Mastura Yahya, Nutritional Sciences Program, Centre of Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Ixora Kamisan Atan, Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Nor Fadilah Rajab, Biomedical Sciences Program, Centre of Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Hanif Farhan Mohd Rasdi, Occupational Therapy Program, Center for Rehabilitation and Special Needs Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Annie George, Sasikala M Chinnappan, Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, Shah Alam 40150, Selangor, Malaysia
Author contributions: Muniandy S, Yahya HM, Shahar S, Kamisan Atan I, Abdullah Mahdy Z, and Rajab NF contributed to conceptualization; Muniandy S, Yahya HM, Shahar S, Abdullah Mahdy Z, and Kamisan Atan I contributed to the methodology; Muniandy S, Yahya HM, Shahar S, Rajab NF, and Mohd Rasdi HFM contributed to the formal analysis; Muniandy S and Yahya HM contributed to the investigation; Yahya HM, Shahar S, and Muniandy S contributed to the reviewing and editing; George A and Chinnappan SM contributed to funding acquisition; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, Malaysia, NN-2021-016.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM/PPI/111/8/JEP-2021-898).
Clinical trial registration statement: The clinical trial is registered under the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial with trial registration number, ACTRN12622001341718.
Informed consent statement: All participants were briefed and provided with a patient information sheet on the study objectives and procedures followed by obtaining a written informed consent. They were assured that their information would remain confidential and that they could withdraw from the study at any stage of the research.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Annie George and Sasikala Chinnappan are employers of Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, the sponsor of the study.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Hanis Mastura Yahya, Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences Program, Centre of Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia.
hanis.yahya@ukm.edu.my
Received: May 6, 2025
Revised: May 29, 2025
Accepted: August 25, 2025
Published online: November 6, 2025
Processing time: 182 Days and 22.7 Hours
BACKGROUND
Herbal supplements are increasingly used to manage menopausal symptoms. Physta® is a commercial herbal ingredient containing Eurycoma longifolia standardized water extract, traditionally used for vitality. Its adaptogenic and anti-inflammatory properties promote hormonal balance, physical function, and sexual health, supporting its potential benefits for menopausal health.
AIM
To investigate Physta®’s role in improving menopausal quality of life, mood states, and overall safety profile compared with placebo.
METHODS
In this 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 138 females aged 40–55 with menopausal symptoms were randomly assigned to receive Physta® 50 mg, Physta® 100 mg, or placebo. MENQOL and POMS were assessed at baseline, week 6, and week 12. Safety outcomes were evaluated through biochemical tests, vital signs, and female reproductive hormonal profile.
RESULTS
Physta® 100 mg significantly reduced total MENQOL scores by 33.9% from baseline to week 12 (P = 0.049) with notable improvements in the physical (-36.4%, P = 0.046) and sexual (-36.3%, P = 0.043) domains. Total mood disturbance also declined more in the Physta® 100 mg group (-38.6%) compared with placebo (-30.1%), although not statistically significant. No significant changes were observed in the vital signs and biochemical parameters, indicating the safety and tolerability of Physta®. No significant alterations were found in the female reproductive hormone profile, supporting its hormonal neutrality.
CONCLUSION
Physta® 100 mg improved menopausal quality of life and mood without adverse effects, supporting its potential as a safe herbal therapy. Further studies with higher doses and longer durations are needed.
Core Tip: Physta® supplementation, particularly at the 100 mg dosage, showed potential in improving quality of life, sexual function, and physical function among menopausal females without significantly altering their vital signs, biochemical parameters, and reproductive hormone levels.
