There is an herbal legend that supposed to work on the human
brain. It’s the herbal medicine St. John's wort. It is documented to have been in
use for centuries as folk and herbal remedies.
Today in the western world, it is a super star herb. In
Europe, it is widely used to treat mild-to-moderate depression. In the United
States, it is one of the top-selling botanical products.
The National Institutes of Health jumped in to conduct a
clinical trial. The goal is to determine the effectiveness of treating adults
who have major depression with St. Johns wort. They push the line a little
here. Major depression is not mild-to-moderate depression, it is clinical
grade, that means severe.
The study included 340 people diagnosed with major
depression.
1.
One-third of the people took the
herbal medicine,
2.
One-third took an SSRI, and
3.
One-third took a placebo, or
"sugar pill."
The people who took the sugar pill did not know what they
were taking. They might be led to think that they were taking the real herb. The
study found that St. John's wort was no more effective than the placebo in
treating major depression.
The question remains: Is St. John's wort effective in
treating mild or minor depression? A study is currently put in progress to look
into this.
TO BE CONTINUED....
