Battle Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder with St. John’s Wort

With dreary days looming ahead in the winter months and shadows crouching in snow banks and among rain puddles, more and more people might start to drop their heads, keep their eyes low and their spirits damp. Throughout winter when the sun is out for the shortest amount of time, some people have developed an affliction which makes them depressed during these darkest months of the year. Called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, part of the population becomes disparaged and in need of help to cope with these symptoms three months of every year. SAD can be helped with a number of vitamins and nutrients, simulated sunlight to induce a better mood, or a combination of therapy. But what about those people that become depressed the other nine months of the year? Alternative medicine now thinks there is a healthier way to treat them, with St. John’s Wort.

St. John’s Wort is an herb from a plant called Hypericum perforatum, also known as the hedgerow plant that offers beautiful bright yellow flowers and blooms near June 24 of every year—or St. John’s Day—it has a following as an herbal supplement. St. John’s Wort is commonly used as an aid for sleep conditions and it has also been effective for centuries to calm very mild forms of depression, but hasn’t been focused on to help with severe depression until now.

Published in the Cochrane Library, German scientists from the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich collected data from 29 studies from various countries using different St. John’s Wort extracts involving 5,489 volunteers with mild to moderately severe depression. The herbal extract St. John’s Wort was used in one group in place of another antidepressant in order to lift one’s mood. A placebo group was used in the studies as well as another group of patients who received common old and new antidepressants like the commercially popular Prozac over a set length of time.

Widely used drugs in the United States such as Prozac or Seroxat are types of medication called Selective Seretonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), popular in lifting the mood but with numerous reported side effects like drowsiness, decreased libido, anxiety or panic attacks, flu symptoms and confusion or problems with balance among others. While in Germany, St. John’s Wort is a household name and is routinely given to children and teenagers for mild depression or sleep disorders with little to no side effects while being used on its own.

Lead researcher Dr. Klaus Linde from The Centre says of the studies, "Overall, the St John's Wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard antidepressants, and had fewer side effects than standard antidepressants." Good news for Germany is that a lot of residents are prescribed St. John’s Wort on a regular basis possibly skewing the results in their favor, but Dr. Linde and his colleagues warn that some of the studies researched were smaller in size and could have given false-positive results.  Also the differences between an extract of St. John’s Wort bought for clinical trials versus one bought at a health food store for normal consumption are substantial and could prove different results, Dr. Linde continues, "Using a St John's Wort extract might be justified, but products on the market vary considerably, so these results only apply to the preparations tested”.

Dr. Linde suggests that those who think they may have depression should consult a doctor before taking any drastic measures using a combination of drugs or herbal extracts. St. John’s Wort has been identified in the past as possibly creating bad reactions when used in conjunction with other prescription drugs—for example medications that lower cholesterol, the pill used for contraception, and it could also put patients who are taking blood thinners or anti-depressants at a higher risk for a stroke—and should always be used with caution and under a doctor’s supervision.