Hypericum perforatum herb for depression treatment - Benefits and side effects of Hypericum perforatum extract 0.3 percent

Hypericum perforatum, also known as St. John's wort, is an herb sold as a supplement that helps improve mood and is often used to treat depression. For more herb and herbal information. Hypericum perforatum is the botanical name for St. John's wort herb.

Depression
St. John's wort extract LI160 for the treatment of depression with atypical features - A double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial.
J Psychiatr Res. 2010 Feb 22. Mannel M, Kuhn U, Schmidt U, Ploch M, Murck H. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
Preliminary data suggest that hypericum extract LI160 is effective in atypical depression. Reported is the outcome of an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of 600mg LI160 vs. placebo in patients with vegetative features of atypical depression, i.e. hyperphagia or hypersomnia. One-hundred (100) patients with mild and 100 patients with moderate severity of a major depression according to ICD-10 were randomized. Patients needed to meet a score of 2 in at least one of the items 22-26 of the Hamilton-Depression-Rating-Scale (HAM-D) 28-item version and episode duration of at least 3months. The primary outcome variable was the relative change of the HAM-D(17) from Baseline. Secondary outcome variables were the depression sub-score of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), a patient's satisfaction scale, the Hamilton-Anxiety-Scale (HAM-A) and the sum score of atypical vegetative symptoms of the HAM-D(28). Confining the analysis to moderately depressed patients, a highly significant benefit for the primary outcome variable was revealed. The study supports the beneficial effect of LI160 in depression with atypical features and the validity of the definition of atypical depression on the basis of reversed vegetative signs. Further, it identifies the PHQ-9 as a useful outcome variable in this population.

Hypericum perforatum for hot flashes
Effects of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) on hot flashes and quality of life in perimenopausal women: a randomized pilot trial.
Menopause. 2009 Feb 3. Al-Akoum M, Maunsell E, Verreault R, Provencher L, Otis H, Dodin S. From the Centre de Recherche, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire du Québec, Québec, QC, Canada; Unité de Recherche en Santé des Populations, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Affilié Universitaire du Québec, Québec, QC, Canada; Unité de Recherche en Gériatrie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada; and Centre des Maladies du sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital St.-Sacrement du Centre Hospitalier Affilié Universitaire du Québec, Québec, QC, Canada.
The aim of this pilot double-blind, randomized clinical trial, which initially targeted breast cancer survivors, was to obtain preliminary evidence of the effect of Hypericum perforatum extract (St. John's wort extract) compared with placebo on symptoms and quality of life of symptomatic perimenopausal women. Symptomatic perimenopausal women aged 40 to 65 years who experience hot flashes (three or more per day, Heart and Estrogen / Progestin Replacement Study scale) were randomly assigned to receive ethanolic Hypericum perforatum extract (900 mg TID) or placebo. After 12 weeks of treatment, a nonsignificant difference favoring the Hypericum perforatum extract group was observed in the daily hot flash frequency and the hot flash score. After 3 months of treatment, compared with the placebo group, women in the Hypericum perforatum extract group reported significantly better menopause-specific quality of life and significantly fewer sleep problems. Hypericum perforatum may improve quality of life in ways that are important to symptomatic perimenopausal women, but these results need to be confirmed by a larger clinical trial.

Hypericum perforatum compared to Prozac
Hypericum perforatum versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression.
Adv Ther. 2002 Jan-Feb;19(1):43-52.
In a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, 70 patients (mean age,50 years) suffering from mild to moderate depression received one tablet of either Hypericum perforatum extract (Calmigen) or fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac) twice a day for 6 weeks. Efficacy was determined according to the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD), the von Zerssen depression scale (DS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and patients' overall evaluation. Significant decreases of 50% in the Hypericum perforatum and 58% in the fluoxetine group in the HAMD score and of 42% and 52% on the DS spoke to the efficacy of both medications. The Hypericum perforatum extract achieved 83% of the efficacy of fluoxetine on the HAMD and 78% on the DS. Assessments by physicians (CGI) and patients indicated considerable improvement with no between-treatment differences. Of the 9 dropouts (13%), 2 in the Hypericum perforatum group and 2 in the fluoxetine group were due to adverse reactions. Safety evaluations demonstrated only minor changes. The Hypericum perforatum preparation tested in this study is therapeutically equivalent to fluoxetine and is therefore a rational alternative to synthetic antidepressants.

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