It was also found to be equally effective to standard medication. Furthermore, the St. John's wort preparations had a clear advantage over standard medications - a much lower frequency of adverse reactions. The conclusion - St. John's wort is a safe and effective for symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate forms of depression. It is important to note that St. John's wort should not be taken at the same time as widely prescribed conventional antidepressive drugs. Since MAO-inhibiting activity has been linked to St. John's wort, it would be potential dangerous in combination with conventional, widely prescribed antidepressants such as Prozac.
Depression is a condition that requires professional medical diagnosis and treatment.
If you are being treated for depression and are taking or contemplating taking St. John's wort, this treatment option should be discussed with your health care professional, especially if he or she has prescribed other drug therapies. When light-skinned livestock, such as sheep, goats, horses, and cattle ingest the plant, then are exposed to bright sunlight, they develop welts on the skin, and other symptoms. Dark-skinned animals are unaffected. This photodermatitis is the result of the interaction of sunlight and oxygen with the pigment hypericin, after it has been ingested, absorbed though the intestinal wall, and reaches the blood without being eliminated by the liver or kidneys. The photosensitization does not occur, and has not been recorded, from external contact with the plant by animals or humans.