CNN, Time Magazine, USA Today all had “St. John’s Wort Doesn’t Work” headlines a few weeks ago. Even Jay Leno had a joke about it (”Now that people found out that St. John’s Wort doesn’t work, they are getting even more depressed.”) So why are we still recommending it?

1. Well, this is a perfect example of how a bit of information can be distorted. Here are the facts:
2. This study showed that St. John’s Wort wasn’t helpful for major depression. Major depression is NOT an indication for St. John’s Wort, it’s unreasonable to expect an herb to cure a situation that might require hospitalization and acute interventions.
3. The study was funded by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, who produce Zoloft. Thirteen of the sixteen researchers had received grants from the company. Why would a pharmaceutical company fund a study of an herb that they have no possibility of patenting, except to show that it pales in comparison to their medication?
4. The British Medical Journal, a well-respected peer-reviewed periodical, published an article in 1998 that analyzed 29 studies on St. John’s Wort, of which 21 were considered good quality studies. That article concluded that studies support St. John’s Wort’s use in mild to moderate (not major) depression.
5. Doing herb studies is very tricky. St. John’s Wort, for instance, has at least 12 active ingredients. Which of these work in depression? No one knows yet, and so different studies concentrate on standardizing different ingredients.
6. There is currently no regulation of natural products. In fact, Consumer Labs, an independent organization that evaluates natural products on the market, has found wide variations in the amount of active ingredients in the 21 St. John’s Wort products they tested. (The Rothfeld Center, in an effort to maintain the quality control of our products, supports and subscribes to Consumer Labs.).

The public can get very confused when medical information is filtered through the “sound bite” media. Hopefully in this and future e-letters, we can help you to sort through some of this information.

Purchase St. John’s Wort online at the Natural Apothecary