SAINT JOHNS WORT & DEPRESSION

While recovering in AA from alcoholism; I experienced depression like never before. It was like being in a black hole with no way out. The only comfortable position was the fetal position with blankets pulled up over my head. It felt like total despiration.

I was told that every cell in my body and my nervous system were in shock from withdrawal. Also that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and it could be a long time before my body and mind recovered.

Determined to get better, I began my search for an alternative to pharmaceuticals. Herbal medicine became a new obsession. That was 22 years ago and I've learned a lot. Sain John's Wort has helped me and many people that I know. So read on and I hope this lens helps others get relief from depression.

The Greek physician Hippocrates, was one of the first ancient writers to document the therapeutic use of St. John's Wort.

Depression, Medical Description: A mental state characterized by sadness and in extreme cases hopelessness and a loss of enjoyment in normal activities.

Holistic understanding: Depression is an imbalance due to a lack of vital energy, often as a result from prolonged stress, poor nutrition and overwork; and the resulting weakening of the adrenal, nervous, and digestive systems.

"Women are three times as prone to developing depression compared to men. Why this is so is not known but many theories are postulated. Some believe that this is due to sex hormones; others claim that it is psychological or social but the bottom line is that men and women are biochemical different. Recent statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health indicate that close to 19 million Americans over the age of 18 suffer from major depression."

"St. John's Wort is the most famous natural antidpressant. Over twenty double-blind studies involving a total of 1,757 patients have been performed, and the results convincingly demonstrate that standardized extracts of St. John's Wort measurably improve mild-to-moderate depression".

Here's a study done with Saint John's Wort:

St. John's Wort as Effective as Popular Prescription Anti-Depressant

Published on Wednesday, February 16, 2005
by Healthy News Service

New Trial Demonstrates Saint John's Wort's Benefit and Safety Compared to Paroxetine

(Austin, TX). A new clinical study shows that a proprietary standardized extract of St. John's wort (SJW) was as effective as a common prescription antidepressant drug in reducing symptoms of depression. The study was published Friday, February 11 in the British Medical Journal.1

According to the randomized, double-blind, reference-controlled trial, patients who took 900mg per day of a SJW extract known as WS® 5570 (W. Schwabe, Karlsruhe, Germany) had as much benefit as the pharmaceutical drug paroxetine (Paxil®, GlaxoSmithKline). Paroxetine is a prescription antidepressant drug in the class known as SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). In some clinical outcomes, including the primary efficacy endpoint (a decrease of the depression scale score), WS 5570 was superior to the pharmaceutical antidepressant.

A reference-controlled trial is different than a placebo-controlled trial where some of the patients take a placebo (a dose with no active ingredient) as a control to test the effect of the herb or drug being studied. In a reference-controlled trial, the substance being tested is compared directly to a known active material, in this case, the FDA-approved prescription antidepressant drug, paroxetine.

The trial took place in various centers in Germany on patients from the ages of 18 to 70 during the years 2000 to 2003. The full treatment period was for 6 weeks. The patients had been diagnosed to have moderate to severe levels of major depression.

In the study, 251 patients were randomized to receive either 900 mg/day of WS 5570 or 20 mg/day of paroxetine. If a patient did not experience a measurable response after 2 weeks, the dose was doubled. Patients in the SJW group experienced significantly better improvement as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), an internationally accepted severity scale for depression.

The trial results showed that the SJW actually produced a better HAMD improvement than the pharmaceutical drug; patients in the SJW group experienced a three-point greater decrease in the average HAMD total score compared to the original scores (baseline) than did those taking paroxetine. The improvement in the SJW patients was considered clinically significant: there was a responder rate (50% improvement on HAMD) of 70% for the SJW patients versus 60% for those on paroxetine and a remission rate (HAMD equal or less than 10) of 50% for SJW versus 35% for paroxetine. Further, in the secondary efficacy measures (other standard depression scales including the clinical global impression), SJW was rated superior.

Regarding the safety aspects of the trial, the SJW produced significantly fewer adverse side effects than the drug. The paroxetine patients reported 269 adverse effects compared to only 172 for those on SJW. The most frequently reported adverse effect for both treatments was stomach upset, a fairly common side effect in many clinical trials of this type.

"This trial can help resolve some of the confusion surrounding the potential benefits of St. John's wort," said Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the nonprofit American Botanical Council. "Most of the clinical trials show that several types of St. John's wort extracts produce clinically measurable and significant benefits."

St. John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum L.): A Review
© 1996 Christopher Hobbs L.Ac., A.H.G.
(Excerpted from HerbalGram)
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Among the many medicinal herbs used throughout the long history of Occidental culture, St. John's wort, Hypericum perforatum L., has always been and still is of great interest. From the time of the ancient Greeks down through the Middle Ages, the plant was considered to be imbued with magical powers and was used to ward off evil and protect against disease. As a practical folk-remedy, it has been used widely to heal wounds, remedy kidney troubles, and alleviate nervous disorders, even insanity.

In the last thirty years Hypericum perforatum has undergone extensive clinical and laboratory testing. The present article reviews the plant's botany, history of use, chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, medical uses, and preparations.

Botany

Taxonomy and Description
St. John's wort is a member of the genus Hypericum, of which there are 400 species worldwide. There is some disagreement as to the plant's family, some placing Hypericum in the segregate family Hypericaceae, while others place it in the family Guttiferae. However, most researchers now think that the morphological and chemical differences of the two families are insufficient to justify separating them (1,2).

The plants are described as glabrous perennials, erect and usually woody at the base. The ovate to linear leaves are sessile, opposite, and well-supplied with translucent glandular dots. The regular flowers have five short, subequal, entire, imbricate, basally connate sepals, and five persistent-withering yellow petals. The ovary is superior, capsicular, and three-styled. Stamens are many, arranged in bundles of threes, and the flowers are profuse, arranged in branched cymes which bloom from June until September. In the absence of insect pollination, apomixis commonly occurs.

St. John's wort should not be confused with rose of sharon (H. calycinum), a common ornamental ground-cover in the United States. Rose of sharon flowers and leaves are much larger than those of St. John's wort (though interestingly, anti-biotic substances have been extracted from H. calycinum that are similar in activity to substances in H. perforatum (3).

Range and Habitat
St. John's wort is native to Europe, West Asia, North Africa, Madeira and the Azores, and is naturalized in many parts of the world, notably North America and Australia (4,5). The plant spreads rapidly by means of runners or from the prodigous seed production and can invade pastures, disturbed sites, dirt roads, the sides of roads and highways, and sparse woods.

In the western United States, St. John's wort is especially prevalent in northern California and southern Oregon, hence one of its common names, "Klamath Weed". Because of the known photosensitizing properties of the plant, which can be toxic to cows and sheep, it has been considered a pest in some places. Prior to 1949, it was estimated to inhabit 2.34 million acres of rangeland in northern California. For years an attempt was made to control the plant with herbicides, but with little success.

Some additional products that help with mood elevation are: Valerian, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamen C, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and now vitamen D is believed to elevate mood.

Standardized St. John's Wort costs about $20.00 per month. For comparison, Prozac costs about $80.00/month.

"St. John's Wort is the most famous natural antidpressant. Over twenty double-blind studies involving a total of 1,757 patients have been performed, and the results convincingly demonstrate that standardized extracts of St. John's Wort measurably improve mild-to-moderate depression".

My next lens with be on the many new benefits being discovered about Vitamen D. Watch for it.

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