Urtica dioica in comparison with placebo and acupuncture: A new possibility for menopausal hot flashes: A randomized clinical trial.

Hot flashes are one of the most common and disruptive symptoms of menopause, affecting millions of women worldwide. Many women seek natural alternatives to hormone therapy, and a new clinical trial published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine explored whether stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and acupuncture could help.

In this study, 72 postmenopausal women between the ages of 45 and 60 — each experiencing at least 20 hot flash episodes per week — were divided into four groups. One group received both Urtica dioica (450 mg daily) and real acupuncture (11 sessions). A second group received real acupuncture with a placebo capsule. A third group received Urtica dioica with sham acupuncture. The fourth group received both sham acupuncture and a placebo capsule. The study ran for 7 weeks, with a 4-week follow-up period afterward.

The results were encouraging for natural health seekers. Women in the real acupuncture, Urtica dioica, and combination groups all experienced significant reductions in hot flash frequency and severity, as well as meaningful improvements in quality of life. The placebo-sham group, by contrast, saw very little change. Notably, there was no significant difference in outcomes between the three active treatment groups — meaning stinging nettle alone performed just as well as acupuncture alone.

Interestingly, combining the two treatments did not produce better results than either therapy on its own, suggesting that each works through mechanisms that may overlap.

For women looking for non-hormonal options to manage menopause symptoms, this study suggests that both acupuncture and stinging nettle are promising, evidence-backed choices. If you are considering either approach, speak with a licensed acupuncturist or integrative health practitioner who can tailor a treatment plan to your individual needs.

This 7-week double-blinded RCT (n=72; 68 analyzed) evaluated Urtica dioica (450 mg/day) versus acupuncture (11 sessions) versus combined therapy versus sham-placebo control in postmenopausal women reporting ≥20 hot flashes/week. Primary outcomes were hot flash score and MENQOL quality-of-life scale; secondary outcomes included FSH, LH, and estradiol levels. All three active groups — real acupuncture plus placebo, Urtica dioica plus sham acupuncture, and combined therapy — demonstrated statistically significant reductions in hot flash scores at end of treatment and 4-week follow-up (P<0.0001), with MENQOL improvements also significant (P=0.001). The sham-placebo group showed minimal change. No statistically significant differences were observed between the three active arms, and combination therapy conferred no additive benefit. Clinically, Urtica dioica monotherapy appears comparable in efficacy to acupuncture for vasomotor symptom management in postmenopausal women, offering practitioners a viable herbal adjunct or alternative within an integrative protocol.