By Neil Sherman
HealthSCOUT Reporter
FRIDAY, Sept. 1
(HealthSCOUT) -- St. John's wort, the popular herb touted
for its ability to banish the blues, is as good as a
prescription antidepressant, the largest European study of
the herb reveals.
The herb helps
mild depression and has fewer side effects than imipramine,
one of the most commonly used antidepressants, the study
says.
St. John's wort
is the first thing doctors should use to treat mild to
moderate depression, the researchers say. But they warn that
the drug has not been tested for severe depression, and an
American clinical pharmacist says you still need therapy to
overcome the illness.
"We've done
a lot of studies on St. John's wort extracts, looking at how
St. John's wort acts in the brain and in the nerve
cells," says Dr. Helmut Woelk, medical director of the
Academic Training Hospital at the University of Geissen in
Germany. "What we are reporting now is our last study,
which shows that St. John's wort is as therapeutically
effective as imipramine and patients tolerated the drug
better."
Woelk and his
colleagues recruited 324 patients with mild to moderate
depression from across Germany. Half of them took 75
milligram doses of imipramine twice daily for six weeks,
while the other half were given 250 mg of dried St. John's
wort extract twice daily.
At the end of
the six weeks, the patients were measured again, using
rating scales and patient self-assessment. The two
treatments were "therapeutically equivalent,"
Woelk says. "But the patients tolerated better the St.
John's wort. The side effects were fewer. They had less dry
mouth, less headache, sleeplessness, sweating, nausea, and
dizziness."
The results
appear in the Sept. 2 issue of the British Medical Journal.
St. John's wort
is a common perennial herb with bright yellow flowers that
grows wild in much of the world. the plant was associated
with St. John the Baptist. It was said to bloom first on his
birthday, June 21. The herb is the first thing doctors in
Germany prescribe for depression, and it's covered by the
national health-care system.
A common problem
in U.S.
Loss of energy
and interest, an inability to enjoy oneself, changes in
sleep habits and appetite as well as difficulty in
concentrating and exaggerated feelings of sadness are common
signs of depression.
The findings are
no surprise to C.W. Fetrow, co-author of The Complete Guide
to Herbal Medicine and a clinical pharmacist at St. Francis
Medical Center in Pittsburgh.
"There are
some 25 to 30 trials on St. John's wort that show the same
kinds of results, and typically the majority of the trials
are overseas," Fetrow says. The Germans are
particularly enthusiastic about St. John's wort, he adds.
"Germany was hip to alternative medicine long before we
were in the United States."
But if you think
buying a bottle at your local health food
store is going to cure your depression, Fetrow says think
again.
"People who
are depressed need support," Fetrow says. "They
need support in the form of counseling and they could need
psychotherapy as a part of a general treatment approach.
They also need to be monitored if they are taking St. John's
wort for any possible side effects."
Calls to
Novartis Pharmaceuticals, which makes imipramine under the
brand name Tofranil, were not returned.
