Evening primrose oil is made from the seeds of Oenothera biennis, a plant native to the Americas. This roadside plant is commonly known as evening primrose because its fragrant yellow flowers open at sunset during summer and early autumn.
Like many plants, evening primrose has a long history of medicinal use. The indigenous people of the Americas use the leaves for digestive complaints and sore throats, and the juice from the stems and leaves in healing skin issues, including inflammation, bruising, and minor wounds.
Its skin-soothing properties also make evening primrose oil a common ingredient in skincare products, especially those that target redness or inflammation. It is sometimes used as a herbal remedy for eczema.
This is mainly down to evening primrose oil’s high levels of linoleic acid and gamma-linolenic acid, which are both types of omega-6 fatty acid. Like omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that can have many benefits for our health, including reducing the markers of inflammation.
But what does this have to do with menopause?
Evening primrose, like many other herbs, produces compounds that weakly mimic oestrogen in our bodies. Called phytoestrogens, these plant compounds may help to reduce the symptoms of menopause, which are mainly caused by decreasing levels of oestrogen (chiefly oestradiol) in our bodies.
Since evening primrose oil appears to act as a phytoestrogen, researchers are interested in whether it might help to ease some of the symptoms of menopause.
In this blog, we’ll look at the findings so far.
We never cease to be amazed at the varied ways oestrogen affects our bodies. And one of the impacts of decreasing oestrogen is the associated loss of muscle strength and elasticity.
What does research tell us about evening primrose oil for menopause?
It is still early days for much of the research into herbal remedies for menopause and evening primrose oil is no exception. A recent meta study published in the Journal of Menopausal Medicine found just 8 studies, and the researchers only considered 4 of these in their analysis.
These studies mostly focused on the effect of evening primrose oil on hot flushes and night sweats, which are common and disruptive symptoms of menopause.
All four studies were relatively small – the largest included just 100 women. So, it is fair to say there is more research to be done before we can draw really firm conclusions about the benefits of evening primrose oil for menopause.
However, some of these studies did show promising signs. For example, several noted that women taking evening primrose oil reported significant improvements in the severity of hot flushes compared with women taking a placebo.
These studies did not find any significant difference in the frequency or duration of hot flushes, however.
These results were supported by further research published in the Journal of Menopausal Medicine in 2021. This study, which included 170 women, also found no significant difference in the frequency and duration of hot flushes. However, the authors did discover significant improvements in night sweats in the group taking evening primrose oil, with women reporting reductions in both the frequency and severity of sweating at night.
So, mixed results so far for evening primrose oil – but if you are especially struggling with night sweats or the severity of hot flushes, it might be an interesting option to try.
Other benefits of evening primrose oil during menopause
We’ve looked at the potential benefits of evening primrose oil for hot flushes and night sweats, but what about other menopause symptoms?
As already discussed, there is more research to be done into the effects of evening primrose oil during menopause itself. However, there are two other areas where the benefits of evening primrose oil may be of particular interest to women during and after menopause.
The first is in skincare. As many of us know all too well, menopause can bring with it changes to the skin, as seesawing hormones make our skin thinner, drier, and more prone to injury.
Evening primrose oil has been linked to skin health for centuries. And, as a paper published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Scienceconfirmed in 2022, this oil is indeed effective in supporting the integrity and repair of the stratum corneum (the outmost layer of skin, which acts as an important protector against water loss and infection).
The second (and even more important) potential benefit of evening primrose oil is for heart health. Women are at increased risk of heart disease after menopause, because of the loss of the protective effects of oestrogen on our cardiovascular systems.
However, the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids found in evening primrose oil might help to reduce this risk, at least a little. A 2020 meta-analysis of 6 studies found that supplementing with evening primrose oil significantly increased levels of HDL cholesterol (the heart-protective type of cholesterol) and reduced levels of triglycerides, which are linked to higher risk of cardiovascular issues.
None of the papers included in this meta-analysis focused specifically on menopausal women, but these findings are still interesting for those looking to protect their heart health.
Of course, exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management are all also important in lowering your risk of heart issues (and relieving menopause symptoms), so it is likely that you’ll want to consider evening primrose oil as part of a range of interventions, instead of on its own.
And, as always with herbal remedies, make sure you consult your doctor if you are taking any medications and are also considering trying evening primrose oil.
References
Evening Primrose Oil, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/evening-primrose-oil, consulted 09/03/2025
No need to avoid healthy omega-6 fats, Harvard Health Publishing, https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/no-need-to-avoid-healthy-omega-6-fats, consulted 09/03/2025
Kazemi, F., Masoumi, S. Z., Shayan, A., & Oshvandi, K. (2021). The Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Capsule on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats in Postmenopausal Women: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of menopausal medicine, 27(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.20033
Thevi, T., De, S., & Soe, H. H. K. (2024). Evening Primrose Oil for Menopause Hot Flashes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of menopausal medicine, 30(3), 127–134. https://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.23038
Motaghi Dastenaie, B., Safdari, F., Raisi, Z., & Karimian, Z. (2017). The effect of evening primrose plant on physical symptoms of menopause. Journal of Babol University of Medical Sciences, 19(2), 34-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.22088/jbums.19.2.34
Kazemi, F., Masoumi, S. Z., Shayan, A., & Oshvandi, K. (2021). The Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Capsule on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats in Postmenopausal Women: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of menopausal medicine, 27(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.20033
Blaak, J., & Staib, P. (2022). An updated review on efficacy and benefits of sweet almond, evening primrose and jojoba oils in skin care applications. International journal of cosmetic science, 44(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12758
Ryczkowska, K., Adach, W., Janikowski, K., Banach, M., & Bielecka-Dabrowa, A. (2022). Menopause and women’s cardiovascular health: is it really an obvious relationship?. Archives of medical science : AMS, 19(2), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms/157308
Khorshidi, M., Zarezadeh, M., Moradi Moghaddam, O., Emami, M. R., Kord-Varkaneh, H., Mousavi, S. M., Alizadeh, S., Heshmati, J., Olang, B., & Aryaeian, N. (2020). Effect of evening primrose oil supplementation on lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Phytotherapy research : PTR, 34(10), 2628–2638. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.6716
