Johns Wort Hypericum perforatum

According to a recent meta-analysis, St. John s wort is more effective than placebos for the treatment of mild to moderately severe depressive disorders (see Chapter 43). 

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Flavonoids in the diet have been widely promoted as important antioxidant contributors. Their neuroprotective properties, because of this effect, have been demonstrated by several workers. However, they have also been demonstrated to have MAOI activity and this has been proposed as part of the explanation of the use of the common herb, St Johns Wort, Hypericum perforatum L., as an antidepressant. This dual role has now been proposed for a variety of flavonoids, such as kaempferol (22) from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L., a widely used herbal product which has been suggested as a preventative agent against neurodegeneration. Quercetin (23), similarly, has also shown to inhibit MAO-B " and reverse the effects of induced catalepsy, which mimics the bradykinesia associated with PD. Tangeretin (24) also inhibits MAO-B and crosses the blood brain barrier in a rat model. 

St Johns Wort Hypericum perforatum With others, wound treatments... 

Also mentioned in the Heinerman reference is the use of an extract of St. Johns wort Hypericum perforatum) for hopeless cancer cases. Mention is made of several cases of cancer cured using Chaparral tea Larrea divaricata). 

A. Johne, J. Brockmoller, S. Bauer, A. Maurer, M. Langheinrich, and I. Root, Pharmacokinetic interaction of digoxin with an herbal extract from St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum). Clin. Pharmacol. Ther., 66, 338-345 (1999). 

Saint-John s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial herb with round stems having two distinct lengthwise ridges (Kowalchik and Hylton 1987 Leyel 1994). It produces bright yellow flowers with five... 

Saint-John s-wort (Hypericum perforatum). Reprinted with permission from Sturdivant and Blakely. (1999). Medicinal Herbs in the Garden, Field, and Marketplace. Friday Flarbor, WA San Juan Naturals. Illustration by Peggy Sue McRae. 

Dimpfel W, Schober F, Mannel M. (1998). Effects of a methanolic extract and a hyperforin-enriched C02 extract of St. John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) on intracerebral field potentials in the freely moving rat (Tele-Stereo-EEG). Pharmacopsychiatry. 31(suppl 1) 30-5. 

Ernst E, Rand JI, Barnes J, Stevinson C. (1998). Adverse effects profile of the herbal antidepressant St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.). EurJ Clin Pharmacol. 54(8) 589-94. 

St John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum, S JW) has been on the herbal pharmacopeia for many years. It is a traditional remedy for depression which has been validated in recent randomized clinical trials. Like many herbal preparations levels of active constituents vary from one preparation to another. As a consequence of its validation as an active preparation it has been widely promoted. Recently it has been shown to interact with a variety of other substances probably through the process of drug interaction. 

Table 9. The effect of St John s wort Hypericum perforatum) on some conventional drugs ...

Markowitz, J.S., DeVane, C.L., Boulton, D.W, Carson, S.W, Nahas, Z., and Risch, S.C. (2000) Effect of St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) on cytochrome P-450 2D6 and 3A4 activity in healthy volunteers. Life Sci 66 PL133-PL139. 

Nathan P. The experimental and clinical pharmacology of St. John s wort (hypericum perforatum L). Mol Psychiatry 1999 4 333-338. 

Wang Z, Gorski JC, Hamman MA, Huang SM, Lesko LJ, Hall SD. The effects of St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) on human cytochrome P450 activity. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2001 70 317-326. 

Barnes J, Anderson LA, Phillipson JD. St John s wort Hypericum perforatum L.) a review of its chemistry, pharmacology and clinical properties. J Pharm Pharmacol 2001 53 583-600. 

St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial wildflower indigenous to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia (Fig. 1) and has been used for medicinal purposes for over two millennia. As far back as the early 16th century, St. John s wort was used primarily to treat anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. In the late 20th and early 21st century, St. John s wort has been recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate depression (7). In support of its use for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, a number of clinical trials have demonstrated that St. John s wort has comparable efficacy to the tricyclic antidepressants (i.e., imipramine) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g., fluoxetine and paroxetine) (8-13). 

Breidenbach T, Kliem V, Burg M, Radermacher J, Hoffmann MW, Klempnauer J. Profound drop of cyclosporin A whole blood trough levels caused by St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum). Transplantation 2000 69(10) 2229-2230. 

Hebert MF, Park JM, Chen YL, Akhtar S, Larson AM. Effects of St. John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) on tacrolimus pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers. J Clin Pharmacol 2004 44(l) 89-94. 

Greeson JM, Sanford B, Monti DA. St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) a review of the current pharmacological, toxicological, and clinical literature. Psychopharmacology 2001 153 402-414. 

Izzo AA. Drug interactions with St. John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) a review of the clinical evidence. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther 2004 42(3) 139-148. 

St. John s Wort Hypericum perforatum L.) A Review. Christopher Hobbs-Health World Online, 1996. 

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