The journal, which is published six times a year, is a national independent review of therapeutic topics, primarily aimed at health professionals. It aims to provide short reviews on a range of topics which will assist readers in their professional duties. Its main strength is that it can comment independently as it contains no advertising. St John's Wort has generated considerable professional and lay interest as an antidepressant.
Some trials report that the effect is comparable to that of pharmaceutical antidepressants.
The remedy has been used in Germany for many years, however there is uncertainty about how it works. Philip Mitchell, Professor at the University of New South Wales, states that there have been weaknesses in the research conducted on St John's Wort. Several new antidepressants have been introduced into Australia. These medicines differ from earlier generation antidepressants, both in their structure and the way they work, according to Trevor Norman, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. While the introduction of these new drugs has not revolutionised the treatment of major depression, they do have fewer side effects than earlier generation antidepressants.