Some of the most popular antidepressants are SRIs, and include Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Effexoris. If hypericum acts as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor as do these drugs, it seems that it could be gradually introduced over the course of a couple of weeks as the SRI antidepressant drug is reduced. If this occurs, one should consult a doctor. One of the reasons that one would want to substitute an herb such as hypericum for a drug is the lack of side effects. In this, it is heartening to know that no negative interactions and effects have been reported with the use of St. John's Wort with any other drug.
Toxicity is based upon risk versus benefit.
The fact that 500 to 1000 people die in the United States each year from internal bleeding caused by aspirin is offset by the many millions more who benefit from its use. With not a single recorded human death in over 2400 years, hypericum is safer than aspirin. In many books, St. John's Wort is listed as a dangerous poisonous weed. This is based on its toxicity to certain light-skinned animals such as sheep who develop a heightened sensitivity to the sun after ingesting large quantities of St .John's Wort. As a result large scale extermination of St. John's Wort has been undertaken in Australia where it is considered a dangerous weed and certain parts of the United States.