St. John's Wort: An Overview One of every thre

 
 
 
 
One of every three American adults regularly uses herbal supplements, including both St. John's Wort and saw palmetto, the two most popular supplements in use today (Schardt, 6). St. John's Wort, just a few short years ago, was little more than an obscure weed growing wild in North America. Today, as Schardt (60) has commented, St. John's Wort is one of the "most common and popular 'feel-good' herbal supplements." Millions of people take it as a "natural" way of fighting depression. However, as this brief report will demonstrate, despite years of scrutiny and clinical research, there are more questions about the usefulness of this substance than there are answers regarding its efficacy in treating depression or any other condition.

Commonly known as St. John's Wort, Hypericum perfortaum is an herbaceous perennial plant that has long been used in natural medical practice as a treatment for depression and other disorders of mood and affect (Rodriguez and Contreras, 688). Phytotherapy based on H. perforatum extracts is employed commonly in treatment of depression in its mild manifestations around the world; Rodriguez and Contreras (688) noted that through phytochemical analysis, the leaves, stems and flowers of H. perforatum have been found to contain bioactive substances identified as hypericin and hyperforin.

Some anti-depressant-like actions have been identified for H. perforatum in animal studies described by Rodriguez and Contreras (689). H. perforatum seems to


     
 
 
 
    

 

Related Essays

St. John's wort .... Bratman, S. (1997 .... G., Mulrow, CD, Pauls, A., Weidenhammer, W., & Melchart, D. (1996, August 3). St John's wort for depression - An overview and meta .... (3263 13 )

St. John's Wort and Depression .... Bratman, S. (1997 .... G., Mulrow, CD, Pauls, A., Weidenhammer, W., & Melchart, D. (1996, August 3). St John's wort for depression - An overview and meta .... (3309 13 )

St. John's Wort and Depression .... Bratman, S. (1997 .... G., Mulrow, CD, Pauls, A., Weidenhammer, W., & Melchart, D. (1996, August 3). St John's wort for depression - An overview and meta .... (3263 13 )



Category: Medical - S
 
 
 
Common Topics
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Click Here to Get Instant Access to over 32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
 
 
 
Join Now  
 
 
 
 
 
Saved Papers  
 
 
Save your essays here so you can locate them quickly!
 
 
 
Testimonials  
 
"Thank you for making such a high quality site! Your papers are the best I have seen around"
Debbie B.
 
"Your site was very helpful and gave me the details I needed in order to complete my essay!!!"
Mike F.
 
"This site is an excellent vehicle for quick referrences. Thanks a bunch!"
Carla T.
 
"Great site, I got a lot of new ideas I would have never thought of before."
Nate A.
 
"I love this site!!!"
Marie H.
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2007 - 2012 Lots of Essays. All Rights Reserved. DMCA