St. John's Wort and Depression

The results of a randomized trial published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology indicate that St John’s wort extract was significantly effective in treating major depressive disorder. Further, Hypericum extract (St John’s wort extract) was found to be more effective than fluoxetine. The results were based on a double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial on 135 patients randomized to 12 weeks of treatment. The study was conducted by the researchers from Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

References:

1. Fava M, Alpert J, Nierenberg AA, Mischoulon D, Otto MW, Zajecka J, Murck H, Rosenbaum JF.: A Double-blind, randomized trial of St John's wort, fluoxetine, and placebo in major depressive disorder. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2005 Oct; 25(5):441-7.
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/