Is St. John's Wort Good Or Bad?

What is St. John's Wort?

St. John's Wort (or Hypericum perforatum) is a wild, perennial plant with yellow star-shaped flowers. It is mainly distributed in Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou in China. There are also distributions in southern Europe, Cyprus, northwestern Africa, the Near East, Central Asia, India to Mongolia and Russia. It grows at an altitude of 500-2100 meters on hillsides, roadsides, grasslands, forests and riversides.

St. John's Wort Extract Powdergellir ei ddefnyddio ar gyfer atal a thrin symptomau o iselder ysgafn i -gymedrol, rheoleiddio anhwylderau affeithiol ac emosiynol, dileu tensiwn ac iselder, adfer hunanhyder a gwella cwsg.

What are Health Benefits of St. John's Wort?

St John's Wort ushers in a boom in the market for relieving mild to moderate depression and dealing with daily stress because of its long history of application, easy availability of raw materials, low cost and which is not subjected to the control of psychotropic drugs.

The active ingredients that are potentially determined to be antidepressant are hypericin, pseudohypericin, protohypericin, hypericum perforatum, adhyperforin and the like at present. These ingredients appear to raise the levels of chemical messengers in the brain, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Then these act to elevate and regulate your mood. In 2016, a review of 35 studies showed that St. John's wort effectively reduced symptoms of mild to moderate depression better than a placebo and similar to prescription antidepressants.

Another study showed that St. John's wort is effective in treating wounds, bruises, burns, and sores.

What are Side Effects of St. John's Wort?

Some research indicates that St. John's wort can assist in treating depression and other conditions. However, experts warn that there are some disadvantages to this herbal supplement.

Side effects of St. John's Wort include vomiting, dizziness, anxiety, panic attacks, aggression, and amnesia. There are also severe problems with drug interactions.

The main problems about the herb center on the metabolic pathway known as cytochrome 450. The pathway consists of the enzymes our body uses to remove drugs and ingested chemicals from the bloodstream. St. John's Wort induces the body to produce more of these enzymes to clear the chemical from the bloodstream. This may rob other medicines of their effectiveness. It also interacts with many common medications. It interferes with anti-rejection drugs, heart medications, and some drugs used for heart disease, HIV, and cancer.

Some studies showed that pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid St. John's wort.