St John's wort
mg/day extract
Hypericum perforatum extract, often LI-160 at 900 to 1,500 mg a day. It is the plant extract, not a prescription antidepressant.
Trials use a named extract such as LI-160 and score depression with Hamilton or similar scales. Sertraline is a prescription drug used as a comparator in some trials. A menopause tea or a multivitamin is a different product.
Also called Hypericum perforatum, hypericum, LI-160.
Connected relationships
Randomized trial · Contested
St John's wort→Depression
A rise in St John's wort does not identify a change in Depression.
The Hypericum Depression Trial (Davidson 2002) found that LI-160 St John's wort did not beat placebo on eight-week Hamilton change among 340 US outpatients with major depression and a baseline score of at least 20 (-8.68 versus -9.20, P=0.59). Sertraline, the active comparator, also missed that primary.
Sources
- JR Davidson et al. (2002). Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's wort) in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
- RA Moreno et al. (2006). Hypericum perforatum versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a randomized double-blind trial in a Brazilian sample.