St. John's Wort and Depression

by Nutrition Focus

One of the better studied herbal supplements is St. John's wort, recommended for mild to moderate depression.  A study in the December 11, 1999 British Medical Journal reports that an extract of St. John's wort is just as effective as drug treatment of moderate depression in 260 German patients.

About 100 patients were treated with either a product described as hypericum extract STEI 300 or the drug imipramine (sold as Tofranil) for eight weeks. About 50 patients were given a placebo. All three groups got significantly better throughout the study. Very few mild side effects were noted in any patients. The drug used is considered obsolete, so it could be claimed that the study was designed to make this product look good.

NOW Foods St. John'S Wort 300Mg, 250 Capsules (AMAZON.COM)

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

It was surprising that the placebo-treated patients improved greatly. Depression scores improved by about 15 points with both the hypericum or drug treatment; placebo resulted in a 14 point improvement. Also noted in the paper is that one patient on placebo attempted suicide during the study. Removing that patient would have resulted in no differences among the three groups. The authors pointed out that there is considerable variation among St. John's wort products and this extract's effects cannot be generalized to other products.

Copyright 2000, 2004. Nutrition News Focus.

Tags: depression supplements