Herbal Depression Medicine: St Johns Wort
By Alex Matis
A growing number of patients are interested in using herbal medicine rather than prescription drugs to treat their condition. While herbal treatment for is in many cases not really proven to be effective the herbal medicine St Johns Wort is the only one that has been shown to have a positive effect on certain types of depression. So a closer review of this herbal treatment for is warranted.

St Johns Wort (Hypericum Perforatum), also known as goats weed, is a perennial herb with small yellow flowers that originally stems from Europe, but was also introduced to the American continent. The plant derives its name from the old tradition of harvesting its flowers on St. Johns day (June 24th). The herb is toxic to grazing animals and invasively replaces other plants wherever it grows. Thus, if not actively grown as herbal medicine, it is often controlled by the use of herbicides or by biological means. The use of St Johns Wort as medicinal plant is documented since antiquity, with the first recorded mentioning as herbal treatment for in the 17th century. Today St Johns Wort extracts, mostly in the form of pills and tablets, and in some instances teas are used as herbal medicine and as treatment for anxiety. Especially in Europe, and in particular in the German speaking countries there is a long tradition of prescribing this herbal medicine rather than prescription drugs for mild cases of depression, while in the US there is still some scepticism from medical professionals.

A large number of clinical studies have repeatedly shown that St Johns Wort is as effective as standard prescription medicine and far superior than placebo in dealing with mild to moderate depression. In addition this herbal treatment for showed a better side effect profile than conventional anti depressants. However, other clinical studies on the use of St Johns Wort as treatment for moderate to severe showed no significant effect of the drug. All in all this indicates that this herbal medicine is a treatment of choice for minor depression, but not for more severe cases where more traditional approaches are indicated. As is the case with prescription anti depressants the exact mode of action by which St Johns Wort works is unknown. However, it is believed that the herb and in particular its active compounds hyperforin and hypericin and others act as serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. As is often the case with herbal extracts the quality of St Johns Wort extracts can vary significantly depending on where the plant was grown and how the extract was derived at and purified. This has of course implications for clinical studies and for the individual patient taking this herbal medicine. Thus, if a patient is successfully using one St Johns Wort-based brand of product he is advised not to switch to other brands. St Johns Wort is usually well tolerated, though side effects such as tiredness, sedation, confusion, photosensitivity and stomach pain have been reported. This herbal medicine also interacts with contraceptives as well as with some other drugs, usually decreasing the effect of those drugs.

Concluding it can be said that St Johns Wort is herbal medicine that is definitely worth considering for sufferers of mild as a great alternative to traditional prescription medicine approaches.

To get more information on herbal medicine go to www.beatdepression.org.

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