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| St. John's Wort is a perennial herb, standing one to two feet high, bearing many bright yellow flowers. It is a shrubby plant, native to many parts of the world including Europe and the United States. Source Many of the active ingredients are found in tiny dark spots located on the edges of the five-petalled flowers or on the upper leaves. These hydroalcoholic extractions are deep red and quite aromatic. Hypericin, a naphthodianthrone, was chosen as the component in which to standardize the extracts of St. John's wort. Most researchers believe that the standardization of St. John's wort extract to hypericin is a sufficient market at this time, even though other components may be primarily responsible for the medicinal activity. In vitro experiments have detected MAO inhibition in extracts of Hypericum. These activities, as well as a vast history of use in depressive disorders have made St. John's wort quite popular in Europe and now the United States. A dose of 300mg, three times daily (900mg total per day) of the 0.3% hypericin extract was used for most of these studies. In one double-blind study, hypericum has been shown to be an effective treatment of seasonal affective disorder. When compared to antidepressant drugs, hypericum demonstrated comparable results without the side-effects associated with antidepressants. While no adverse reactions have been recorded, mixing St. John's Wort extracts with other antidepressants is not advised, without the supervision of a qualified health care professional. Very rarely, with a group of antidepressants known as SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac, anserotenergic syndrome could occur -- characterized by confusion, tremors and sweating. This caused a decrease of the availability of the cyclosporin, digoxin, dexamethasone (a cortisone drug), Propulsid, Cozar, Theoplyline, and Coumadin. Additionally, another report indicated the new AIDS drug, Indinavir, had less than an adequate blood level in patients taking St. Johns Wort. |
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