St. John's Wort Effective in Treating Mild Depression

St. John's Wort Effective in Treating Mild Depression

LONDON--St. John's wort works as well as, and in some areas better than, the prescription drug imipramine for the treatment of depression, according to research published in the Sept. 1 British Medical Journal (321:536-539, 2000). While there was no significant difference in improvement rates, patients taking St. John's wort had significantly lower anxiety levels. The study looked at 300 outpatients treated with 250 mg of hypericum extract standardized to 0.2%, or 75 mg of imipramine daily.

The researchers concluded, "This hypericum perforatum extract is therapeutically equivalent to imipramine in treating mild to moderate depression, but patients tolerate hypericum better [than imipramine.]" The study author noted that these results, in conjunction with the results of other clinical trials, indicate that St. John's wort is as effective as prescription drugs for "first line" treatment in mild tomoderate depression.

Industry response was immediate and positive, with industry members expressing their hopes that it would have an effect on educating practitioners about the benefits of alternative therapies. "This is great news and an important addition to the growing body of literature on the effectiveness and safety of St. John's wort," said David Seckman, executive director/CEO of the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA). Seckman's counterpart at NNFA-New Zealand, Ron Law, was more blunt: "It's time to put this issue to bed. St. John's wort is much safer than drugs and at least as effective. ... To say otherwise is both unfair and scientifically indefensible."

In other St. John's wort news, a study conducted at Cornell University found that the wild-crafted plant may contain more active compounds than commercially grown varieties. The research, presented at the annual American Phytopathological Society meeting held in August, found that a pesticide-free plant grown in the wild had increased levels of chemicals to combat insects, in turn, increasing levels of the marker compound hypericin. Additional research is planned to look at how pre-harvest conditions such as light and altitude effect the final product. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and can be found at www.usda.gov.