Latest St. John’s Wort News Not Depressing

Used for centuries to treat everything from burns and wounds to malaria and sleep disorders, St. John’s wort is perhaps best known as a treatment for mild to moderate depression. While it is not prescribed for such purposes in the United States, it is widely prescribed to treat less-severe depression in Europe, an area of the world that has also conducted a couple of dozen studies on the herb that back up its reputation as an effective mild/moderate antidepressant. A recent study published in the online edition of The British Medical Journal seems to indicate that St. John’s wort can also be effective in treating more severe depression, with many fewer side effects than traditional antidepressant medications.

The study in question was conducted by the Germany-based Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals and involved 301 volunteers aged 18-70. The patients were first “weeded out” for placebo effect when they were given a placebo for a seven day period. Those that showed improvement in their Hamilton depression scores (a system to gauge a person’s depression level – 10 or lower is healthy, 14 and up into the 20’s indicates mild to severe depression) were dropped from the study, leaving 251 volunteers in all. All remaining had a Hamilton depression score of at least 22. The actual study itself pitted the St. John’s wort extract hypericum (marketed, it should be noted, by the study’s authors) against the medication paroxetine, more commonly known as Paxil. The two were randomized in the study group, who took their respective medications for a total of six weeks. At the end of the second week, those who’s Hamilton scores had not decreased by 20% had their dosages doubled. At the end of the six week study, it was found that those taking the St. John’s wort/hypericum had an average decrease of 14 points on the Hamilton scale, while those taking the Paxil/paroxetine had an average decrease of only 11. Additionally, those taking the hypericum had much lesser occurrences (55% to 76%) of side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, sweating and upper abdominal pain.

There is some caution to be noted here, though. This is the first study to show any kind of a link between St. John’s wort and severe depression – past studies have shown no such link. There is also no way to determine exactly how much hypericum you’re putting into your system. Commercial St. John wort teas, capsules and extracts can be easily found, but are notoriously inconsistent in exactly how much hypericum they contain.

Most importantly, a number of studies exist that seem to indicate that St. John’s wort can adversely affect or nullify the effects of a number of different types of medications, including those used to treat HIV, cancer and even anti-rejection drugs used after organ transplantation. Make sure you check with your doctor before trying this treatment method yourself.

Places to shop for St. John's wort and other herbs online: Kalyx.com Herbs House of Nutrition

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