Extracts of the plant Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John’s wort) have traditionally been used in folk medicine to treat a range of disorders, including mental disorders and nerve pain. The common name, St John’s Wort, derives from its traditional flowering and harvesting on the feast of St John the Baptist in late June.
A newly published meta analysis of the effectiveness of extracts of Hypericum perforatum in treating patients with symptoms of depression has concluded that the extracts are more effective than placebo and are as effective as standard antidepressants with fewer side effects. The study analysed results from 29 randomised, double blind trials (5489 patients) comparing extracts of St. John’s wort with placebo or standard antidepressants on clinical outcomes assessing depressive symptoms. The herbal extracts were found to be as effective as tricyclic or tetracyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The original studies were carried out in a number of different countries and it is interesting to note that extracts of St. John’s wort appeared to be considerably more effective in German-speaking countries. Hypericum contains a number of compounds that could contribute to its pharmacological activity and its precise mechanism of action is unclear.
Related posts:
- Antidepressants May Have Benefit in Post-Stroke Therapy Stroke continues to be a major health issue and is a significant cause of death and disability. The recent introduction...
- Study Casts New Light on Prozac Mechanism Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac®) have been used to treat depression for more than three decades...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 8:36 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Entries (RSS)