The NaBu Effect on Menstruation in Women

April 23, 2026 updated by: Magdy Milad, MD

The Effect of Sodium Butyrate on Menstrual Symptoms in Women

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of once-daily Sodium butyrate (NaBu) on menstrual symptoms in women. The investigators posit that the use of NaBu will reduce menstrual symptoms after taking NaBu for 12 weeks.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The general symptoms of menstruation include abdominal and/or pelvic cramping, lower back pain, bloating, mood swings, and irritability. The exact etiology of these symptoms is not well described. Many pathologies that lead to dysmenorrhea are associated with estrogen-dependent cells, such as endometrial cells, linking estrogen production at the cellular level with symptoms of menstruation.

Sodium butyrate (NaBu) is a food supplement readily available in the US in stores and online. It has been shown to inhibit aromatase, a key enzyme in the estrogen biosynthesis pathway, through a mechanism specific to endometrial cells. The transcription process of estrogen is regulated by up to 10 different promotors, depending on the tissue (Attar, 2006; Simpson, 2002). Aromatase transcription in ovarian endometrioma-derived cells & extra-ovarian endometrioma-derived cells is mediated by Promotor II (Attar 2006). NaBu works by inhibiting the phosphorylation and binding of Activating Transcription Factor 2 (ATF2) to promotor II (Deb, 2006). Thus, NaBu has the potential to reduce estrogen synthesis via the inhibition of the aromatase pathway in cells that use promotor II and in no other tissues.

In this study, the investigators will evaluate the effect of daily NaBu on the baseline symptoms of menstruation in women.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

15

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Recruiting
        • Northwestern University - Northwestern Medicine, Lavin Family Pavilion
        • Contact:
          • Magdy P Milad, MD MS
          • Phone Number: 312-694-6447
          • Email: mmilad@nm.org
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years or older.
  • Menstruating regularly or irregularly
  • Experiencing menstrual symptoms with an average baseline symptom score of at least 3 on a scale of 0 to 10 for at least one symptom during the initial pre-study rating period.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding patient, attempting or anticipating pregnancy.
  • Patient with a history of bloating or a sensitive gut (food intolerance) who needs lower fiber levels.
  • Patients with known lactose intolerance, other fermentable oligo-, di-, and mono-saccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) intolerances, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
  • Patients who would require taking daily antacids for the duration of the study.
  • Patients with known or suspected chronic hypertension.
  • Post-menopausal patients

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sodium butyrate (NaBu)
Participants in the study will be administered Sodium Butyrate (NaBu) in tablet form. Each participant will take a dosage of 2.4 grams, which equates to two tablets, once daily. This regimen will be maintained for a duration of 12 weeks. The supplement is self-administered, and participants are required to record their daily symptom severity in an electronic diary (eDiary) throughout the study period. This intervention aims to assess the effectiveness of NaBu in reducing menstrual symptoms by comparing the average symptom scores during the 12-week treatment period to the baseline scores recorded before starting the supplement.
Dietary supplement: Sodium Butyrate (NaBu)
Participants will self-administer Sodium Butyrate (NaBu) daily for 12 weeks. The study aims to evaluate the effect of NaBu on menstrual symptoms by comparing symptom severity before and during the intervention. Participants will maintain an electronic diary (eDiary) to record their daily symptom severity, which will be used to assess changes over time. Regular follow-ups will be conducted to monitor progress and address any side effects or concerns.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Average Menstrual Symptom Scores
Time Frame: Baseline period (one menstrual cycle before starting NaBu) and the 12-week treatment period.
The primary outcome measure is the change in average menstrual symptom scores from baseline to the average scores during the 12-week timeframe of taking daily Sodium butyrate (NaBu). Participants will rate their symptoms daily during their menstrual period on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no symptoms and 10 indicates the worst possible symptoms (e.g., intolerable pain). The average symptom scores during the 12-week treatment period will be compared to the average baseline score to assess the effectiveness of NaBu in reducing menstrual symptoms. Higher scores indicate worse outcomes.
Baseline period (one menstrual cycle before starting NaBu) and the 12-week treatment period.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Magdy Milad, MD

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Magdy P Milad, MD MS, Northwestern Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 15, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 20, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

October 22, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 23, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STU00220694

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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