WASHINGTON, D.C., April 17, 2001—The U.S. dietary supplement industry has never advocated St. John’s wort for the treatment of severe depression. Herbalists, pharmacognosists and industry experts agree that St. John’s wort has significant benefit for stress and mild to moderate depression. St. John’s wort is the most frequently used treatment for mild to moderate depression in Germany, demonstrating its value for millions of consumers.

There are 31 peer-reviewed, published clinical trials of St. John’s wort for mild to moderate depression. Thus, it would be logical to explore the boundaries of its effectiveness by testing it against more severe depression. However, when the study investigators found no evidence of effectiveness for major depression, they summarily dismissed all the previous studies.

"The generalized interpretations and conclusions of this study will confuse consumers who responsibly use St. John’s wort for mild depression," said John Cordaro, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). "Consumers wouldn’t use a throat lozenge for strep throat, but that same lozenge might be just right for a scratchy throat from voice strain or that first stage of a cold. The substantial body of evidence for the value of St. John’s wort for mild to moderate depression should not be arbitrarily dismissed by this study."

The takeaway messages from the JAMA study are simple and clear:

• St. John’s wort is not an appropriate or recommended treatment for severe, major depression. Such patients need to be under the care of a properly trained, expert physician.

• The preponderance of evidence from 31 peer-reviewed, published clinical trials does provide significant support for the beneficial effect of St. John’s wort on mild to moderate depression.

• This new study adds to the significant body of evidence that St. John’s wort is safe, when used as recommended.

"The investigators apparently have not noticed that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has judged St. John’s wort to be more effective than placebo for short-term treatment of mild to moderate depression. In addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a more appropriately targeted, large scale clinical trial of St. John’s wort that is nearing completion," said John Cardellina, Ph.D., CRN vice president for botanical science. "The results of that trial can be more directly and appropriately compared to those from the previous trials. CRN strongly encourages NIH to hold a consensus conference on St. John’s wort after the results are published."

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is a science-based, trade association founded in 1973 and represents more than 110 companies in the dietary supplement industry, including ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN members adhere to a strong Code of Ethics, comply with dosage limits and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under good manufacturing practices.