Does the hip powder of Rosa canina (rosehip) reduce pain in osteoarthritis patients? – a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

R. Christensen, E.M. Bartels, R.D. Altman, A. Astrup, H. Bliddal

This review investigates Rosa canina (rosehip) preparation for symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis (OA), in order to estimate the empirical efficacy as a pain reducing compound.  RCTs from systematic searches were included if they explicitly stated that OA patients were randomized to either rosehip or placebo. The primary outcome was reduction in pain calculated as effect size (ES), defined as the standardized mean difference (SMD). The three studies showed a reduction in pain scores by rosehip powder compared to placebo.

Although based on a sparse amount of data, the results of the present meta-analysis indicate that rosehip powder does reduce pain.

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2008, 16(9), 965-972

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