I love this bright, cheery little flower – coming to full bloom at the height of the summer when days are the longest. It’s almost as if it blooms just in time to capture the power of long sunlit days and store it in its leaves and flowers for us to use in times of depression, sickness and transition.
Many believe It is named after John the Baptist because it is often in full bloom on June 24th, the day of St John’s Feast. Some insist this is the best time to harvest, while others wait until the little red spots appear later in the summer. (The grower I purchase from will be harvesting in the Pacific Northwest in mid-July this year)
In our house we call it the “stop being a jerk Herb” – I may casually leave a bottle of it on the counter or brew a pot of tea when someone is having a particularly rough day *wink *wink.
An Herbal Protector
For centuries, the plant itself was considered a protector. People would carry sprigs of the plant with them for good luck, to ward off evil spirits and even as a tool of divination. Christopher Hobbs, PHD has a great article about St John’s Lore you can check out here.
The Great Run on a Natural Solution
Back in the 1990’s (I know.. forever ago)
one of the big news programs (20/20 or 60 mins) ran a story on the effectiveness of St John’s Wort for depression and how few side effects people experienced.
Within 3 days herb and supplement shops in all the major cities (and a few small towns) had signs on their doors stating “OUT OF ST JOHNS WORT” – there was a NATIONAL RUN ON IT.
It was an eye opening experience to see what a huge issue depression is in our culture & how tremendous the need is for more natural resources.
In response to the popularity of St John’s Wort, the makers of Prozac decided to fund a study to see if it really was as effective and we now know that they did their best to discredit this amazing herb.
For the study, they chose participants with a Hamilton D score of over 18, which is severe depression. they also chose people who had not responded to any treatment in two years.
ouch. That’s a tall order, severely depressed and not responded to any intervention in two years and then released results that it wasn’t effective. however if you actually read the study, it did have a high level of effectiveness with very few side effects compared to the pharmaceutical. (all of this is public information now)
If you like the science side of things then you’ll want to know about a great resource:
The Cochrane Database
It’s an amazing resource of research. In 2008, they completed a systematic review of 29 studies in 5489 patients with depression. The review compared treatment of depression with extracts of St. John’s wort for 4 to 12 weeks with placebo treatment or standard antidepressants.
They also looked at studies that were from a variety of countries and included mild, moderate and major depressive symptoms.
They concluded that: The available evidence suggests that the hypericum extracts tested in the included trials a) are superior to placebo in patients with major depression; b) are similarly effective as standard antidepressants; c) and have fewer side effects than standard antidepressants. The association of country of origin and precision with effects sizes complicates the interpretation. [Linde K, Berner MM, Kriston L. St John’s wort for major depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD000448. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000448.pub3. Accessed 21 June 2021.]
There has even been some limited research showing it is effective in pediatrics – Be sure to communicate with your healthcare provider and a qualified herbalist for guidance.
Internal Use
Both the flowers and leaves are used in medicine. If you have a chance to harvest it, clip the first 6 inches under the bloom and leave the rest of the plant to continue to grow. Allow the plant to dry in the sun (if you live in a humid climate, a dehydrator will prevent molding).
It’s important to note, that for those interested in utilizing this herb therapeutically for anxiety and depression, it’s important to use a product that has been standardized to .3 percent hypericin and/or 3 to 5 percent hyperforin with a dose of 300 to 600 milligrams three times a day
Research has consistently shown that St John’s Wort at doses of 300-600mg three times a day with meals is as effective as standard antidepressants (SSRI’s and MAO inhibitors) and has much fewer side effects. (especially in the sexual department).
According to Dr Aviva Romm, an herbalist, MD and Midwife
“Adding St John’s Worth to the diet of patients experiencing mild to moderate depression has been shown to consistently improve mood in a manner equivalent to standard pharmacologic interventions such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, fluoxetine and paroxetine and tricyclics, and often better tolerated.”
Potential Interactions
If you are taking any of the following, there are some potential interactions and it’s crucial to check with your Dr and/or pharmacist before starting st John’s Wort.
- Warfarin
- Digoxin
- Cyclosporine
- Indinavir
- Irinotecan
- HIV medications
- SSRI’s
oral contraceptives used to be on this list, but recent studies have shown this is less of a concern that originally thought. 1
Serotonin Syndrome
Too much Serotonin? Is that a thing?
while some may say “Sign me Up” it’s actually the reason that you’ll see that St John’s Wort is contraindicated if you are currently taking an SSRI.
More accurately, it should be called Serotonin Toxicity.
First off – this condition is rare, (so rare that I can’t find any actual statistics on how often it happens) but it is worth knowing about.
When too much serotonin is released into the body it can create flu like symptoms, restlessness, headache, sweating, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and more.👉🏼 It’s also why you wouldn’t want to take an extra dose of any anti-depressants.🧐
there are ways to slowly decrease one and increase the other if you’d like to try it. you just need to work with your Dr & your herbalist to do so responsibly. #bettertogether
It’s also important to note, that because St John’s Wort improves some specific liver functions its wise to take it 2 hours away from anything else you may be taking. That improvement in specific liver function has been shown to improve how quickly your body metabolizes other drugs. So if you are taking a medication you really need, you don’t want it to go through your system too fast.
Should this scare you away? I hope not! The fact that this little herb is so potent that you want to be wise about when you use it is all the more reason to respect how amazing it really is.☀️
Working with your Dr and a well trained herbalist and being open and honest about everything you are taking with all those on your health care team is important and gives us all the best chances of helping you reach your health goals.
Wait there’s MORE!
St John’s Wort & Menopause
Depression is one of the major symptoms that women report during peri-menopause and menopausal years along with hot flashes and night sweats.
After learning how effective this herb can be to help with depression, it make sense to reach for it for menopause. But St John’s Wort does so much more. It also helps relieve hot flashes and reduce pain.
In a randomized controlled study conducted on 80 postmenopausal women aged 45–60 in Izeh, Iran the women were sorted into two groups. Three times a day for three months, one group received St Johns’ wort, the other group received a placebo.
“Seventy women completed the study and five women from each group withdrew the study. The frequency and intensity of hot flashes and the score of Kupperman scale significantly decreased in the H. perforatum group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In addition, the intensity of depression significantly decreased in the H. perforatum group compared to the control group. At the end of the study, 80% of women in the intervention group did not have depression compared to only 5.7% in the control group (p < 0.001).”
TLDR – St john’s Wort is effective for relieving both hot flashes and depression during menopause.
Scars and Sun Protection
St John’s wort as a topical preparation – St John’s Wort Infused Oils in particular, have been shown to be effective at healing scars and reducing precancerous spots on the skin.
Creams made from st john’s Wort have also been shown to help protect the skin from the harmful effects of a sunburn by significantly reducing UVB-induced erythema. 2.
St John’s Wort Oil is an amazing red color. That red color is important as it indicates that the oil is made from a true and I’ve personally used it to help healing scars and areas on my skin. I work with my dermatologist to determine what spots are concerning and the best way to prevent potential issues down the road and I recommend that you do the same.
Anti-viral Properties
This is one of the properties I find most compelling when it comes to St John’s Wort. And I think its Important to note that the anti-viral benefits of St John’s Wort are also likely connected to its anti-depressant qualities.
SJW is an awesome Anti-viral. Thousands of years of traditional use and modern research both confirm that it is effective at reducing outbreaks of the Herpes virus, shortening the duration of shingles and effective against Epstein-Barr
Other studies indicate that hypericin, one of the active components of St. John’s wort, inhibits the capability of the offspring of certain viruses to replicate. it was also found that hypericin appeared to directly inactivate the replication process of certain viruses that previously had the capability.
Viruses studied include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),herpes simplex virus types I and II, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and influenza types A and B.3
Anti-Bacterial Properties
Hypericin in St. John’s Wort oils also appears to have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. The organisms that have been studied include Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), Streptococcus mutans (Strep) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and traditionally prepared, organic oils show the highest effectiveness without few side effects. These same types of oils are also the ones you want to use to help improve wound healing.4
If you’re interested in learning more about how this brilliant herb could fit into your diet, I’d love to chat. Set up a free 15 min call https://Shelleyschedule.as.me/15minintromeeting
Until Next Time
Be well 💙
Shelley
- Fogle, Robin H, Patricia A Murphy, Carolyn L Westhoff, and Frank Z Stanczyk. “Does St. John’s Wort Interfere with the Antiandrogenic Effect of Oral Contraceptive Pills?” Contraception 74, no. 3 (2006): doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2006.03.015.
- Meinke, Martina C, Sabine Schanzer, Stefan F Haag, Federica Casetti, Marcel L Müller, Ute Wölfle, Anke Kleemann, Juergen Lademann, and Christoph M Schempp. “In Vivo Photoprotective and Anti-inflammatory Effect of Hyperforin Is Associated with High Antioxidant Activity in Vitro and Ex Vivo.” European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics: official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V 81, no. 2 (2012): doi:10.1016/j.ejpb.2012.03.002.
- https://aphios.com/shop/xantol-ds/pharmacology-of-st-johns-wort/antiviral-and-antibacterial-properties-of-st-johns-wort/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5596533/