St. John's Wort Essay

Depression is the leading cause of disability globally. 18 million adults in US are affected by it, twice as many women as men. It is ranked right after high blood pressure in terms of chronic medical condition. Even though many people are affected by it, millions more cases are not diagnosed because people are reluctant to seek help, fearing the stigma which is attached to mental illness or they simply do not realize they are ill. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, feeling hopelessness and despair.

Medications used to treat depression sometimes cause horrible side effects that many patients hate, as result hate their meds and many discontinues them. Some patients self-medicate with alcohol, tobacco, caffeine where as other seek for alternative care and/or herbal medicine. The best known herbal treatment is an herb called St. John’s Wort. It is grown as a decorative plant but is also found in tablets, tea, capsules and tincture at natural health food stores (i.e. Whole foods, Sprouts), groceries (i.e. Ralphs, Vons), and drug stores (CVS, Walgreen). In this paper, the effectiveness, efficacy of researches conducted, side effects and dosages have been focused on based research articles, randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis.

St. John’s wort which is also known as Hypericum Perforatum, is the widely used herbal antidepressant in the world. Use of St. John’s wort goes back to middle ages. During the middle ages, it was used to treat insanity resulting from attacks of the devils; thus, it was name St. John’s in reference to St. John’s day on the medieval church calendar. Wort means medicinal plant in English word. This herb is native to England, Wales and northern Europe. It was brought to North American in the 170...

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Practitioners are often concerned about how consumers can find good quality herbs and that’s always a challenge, since U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) has not verified brands of St. John’s Wort. According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration, herbal products are considered dietary supplements; thus, the rule for governing these products is not as strict as regulations of medications. Herbal products can be sold in the absence of any studies on effectiveness, safety or dosage. Consumers need to closely read the information about the product on the package. Even though it is not guaranteed, but most reputable companies usually provide information on how the herbs were processed and the active ingredients amount in each capsule. Exercise and St. John’s wort are both effective treatments for depression. Both of these modalities are low-cost, well tolerated.