Remedy · herb
St John's wort
Also: Hypericum perforatum, hypericum
A well-studied herb that rivals antidepressants for mild-to-moderate depression — but interacts with a dangerous number of drugs.
Evidence by condition
Each grade reflects the research for St John's wort and that condition specifically.
- BDepression
For mild-to-moderate depression, standardized extracts beat placebo and match standard antidepressants with fewer side effects; confidence is capped by heterogeneity, product variability, and serious drug-interaction risk.
2 citation s
- St John's wort for major depression Systematic review 2008 · n=5,489 · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · PMID 18843608 · DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD000448.pub3
- St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum): drug interactions and clinical outcomes Narrative review 2002 · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · PMID 12392581 · DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01683.x
- St John's wort for major depression
St John’s wort genuinely works for mild-to-moderate depression — but it induces drug-metabolising enzymes, silently lowering the levels of many essential medicines (including the contraceptive pill and transplant drugs) and raising serotonin-syndrome risk with antidepressants. Anyone taking other medication should treat it as a drug, not a gentle herb, and tell their prescriber.