St. John’s Wort and Depression

A recent study indicates that St. John’s Wort is as effective or more effective than the drug Zoloft for mild to moderate depression and causes fewer side effects than the prescription drug. What’s more, a current review of this herb concluded that it is equally as effective as pharmaceutical antidepressants in treating depression.

The study and the review add to the earlier research on St. John’s Wort for depression. In the study comparing St. John’s Wort to Zoloft (sertraline), researchers treated 87 men and women with depression with either a standardised extract of St. John’s Wort (300 – 600 mg) three times daily or 50 to 100 mg per day of Zoloft, in a double-blind manner. After 12 weeks, the subjects treated with St. John’s Wort experienced a decrease in depression of 50.2% on average while the Zoloft-treated subjects experienced a 41.6% decline.

This was not a statistically significant difference, but the results indicate that St. John’s Wort is as effective as Zoloft and perhaps even more effective. Furthermore, the subjects taking Zoloft experienced more adverse side effects than those who were taking the herb. In fact, the researchers concluded, ‘The more benign side effects of Saint John’s Wort make it a good first choice for this patient population.’

In a review published in July, a reviewer looked at 34 controlled, double-blind trials of St. John’s Wort, tested in roughly 3000 patients suffering from mild to moderate depression. After studying these trials, the reviewer concluded, ‘In the medically supervised treatment of mild to moderate depression, doses of approximately 500-1000 mg of extract per day of these preparations of St. John’s Wort are of comparable efficacy to synthetic antidepressants in their normally prescribed dosages.’

Another recent analysis looked at 27 studies comparing the effects of St. John’s wort and antidepressant medication. It showed that St. John’s wort had effects similar to those of antidepressants on mild to moderate depression.

It also found fewer people stopped taking St. John’s wort during the studies, compared to antidepressants. Important: St. John’s Wort interacts with many medicines, including antidepressants, the contraceptive Pill and blood thinners. Always ask your doctor first.

Furthermore, in one controlled study, 251 people who took 900–1,800 mg of St. John’s wort for six weeks experienced a 56.6% decrease in their depression score, compared to a 44.8% decrease in those on antidepressants (Trusted Source).

Lastly, another controlled study in 241 people taking either St. John’s wort or an antidepressant found that 68.6% of people experienced a reduction in symptoms with St. John’s wort, compared to 70.4% of those on an antidepressant (Trusted Source).