Numerous Studies Demonstrate Effectiveness of St. John’s Wort
-Five recent studies provide evidence St. John’s wort improves mental health-

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WASHINGTON, D.C., September 11, 2000—Five recently published studies provide evidence that St. John’s wort improves mental health. Three of the studies demonstrated the effectiveness of St. John’s wort in treating mild to moderate depression, one showed that the herb reduced symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and another found that it relieved symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

The three trials examining treatment of depression compared St. John’s wort with prescription antidepressants. Two studies compared standardized extracts of St. John’s wort with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Prozac and Zoloft (Int Clin Psychopharm. March 2000; Vol. 15(2): 61-68 and Clin Therapeutics April 2000; Vol. 22(4): 411-419). A third study evaluated the herbal extract and the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (Br Med J. Sept. 2, 2000; Vol. 321: 536-539). In all three studies, St. John’s wort matched the effectiveness of the prescription antidepressant. Additionally, the herb-Prozac study, with 240 participants, and the herb-imipramine study, with 324 participants, were both large enough to demonstrate that patients taking St. John’s wort experienced fewer and milder side effects than patients receiving prescription antidepressants.

"These large studies met the highest standards for clinical research and convincingly demonstrate the safety and efficacy of St. John’s wort in treating mild to moderate depression," stated Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition. "The herb-imipramine study is the largest controlled trial to investigate St. John’s wort for the treatment of depression," added Dr. Dickinson.

In a pilot study of 19 women with PMS who took a standardized St. John’s wort preparation (Br J Ob Gyn. July 2000; Vol. 107: 870-876), 13 women (68 percent) experienced at least a 50 percent reduction in symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and depression. Women reported PMS relief during the first menstrual cycle of treatment, with further improvement in the second cycle.

Another small study (J Clin Psych. August, 2000; Vol. 61(8): 575-578) with 12 volunteers diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed that consumption of St. John’s wort led to significant improvement after 1 week of treatment. Symptoms continued to improve until the end of the 12-week trial. At the trial’s completion, all but one participant experienced improvement.

The authors of the imipramine study concluded that healthcare professionals should consider St. John’s wort for the first line of treatment among patients with mild to moderate depression. Larger and longer studies are warranted for other conditions such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder and may soon support a similar recommendation.