It has been used for centuries to treat mental disorders as well as nerve pain. In ancient times doctors and herbalists wrote about its effectiveness as a sedative and anti-malarial agent as well as a balm for wounds, insect bites and burns. Today, it is used for treating mild to moderate depression, anxiety, seasonal affective disorder and sleep disorders. St. John's Wort is most widely used in Germany, where, in 1994 alone, doctors prescribed nearly 66 million daily doses for their patients with psychological complaints. No studies in long-term use have been conducted thus far.
More research is needed to explore long-term effects and optimum safe dosage.
St. John's Wort is available as a capsule, tincture or tea. Clinical trials are well under-way at research facilities. Although short-term studies have already found that the herb is effective in treating mild and moderate depression, the research community and the public has been worried by the recent finding that the herb might block the therapeutic effect of numerous medications, including birth control pills. Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, acupuncture became widely known in the United States in 1971 when New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about how doctors in Beijing, China, used needles to ease his abdominal pain after surgery. Traditional Chinese medicine theorizes that the more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body connect with 12 main and eight secondary pathways called meridians.