Dr. Richard C. Shelton of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues had about half the patients take 900 milligrams of St. John's wort per day for 4 weeks. If they had not responded after 4 weeks, their daily dose was increased to 1,200 milligrams for the remainder of the study. The AHPA is a trade group for the herbal products industry. Studies have shown that St. John's wort fights mild to moderate depression, not the major depression studied in this trial, Betz said in an interview with Reuters Health. In the US, he noted, the supplement is promoted only as a mood enhancer.
Major depression needs to be treated by a medical professional.
It was funded by the drug maker Pfizer, which markets antidepressant drugs, as well as St. John's wort extract. The researchers do acknowledge that their findings are not the final word on the herb. For one, they note, patients in this study had suffered from major depression for more than 2 years. All rights reserved. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.