St. John’s Wort: Better than SSRIs for Depression

St. John’s wort is one of the most effective herbs for depression. This important new study shows that it may be even more effective–and safer–than drugs.

Depression is the most common mental health issue in the world no matter how old you are. Because of the many side effects of the commonly used drugs, depressed people and researchers alike have been increasingly looking at natural alternatives. One of the most studied is the herb St. John’s wort. This important new meta-analysis looked at the results of these studies to see if St. John’s wort is a serious alternative to antidepressant drugs.

To do that, the researchers looked at the efficacy and safety of St. John’s wort in 14 studies published between 2000 and 2022. Combined into a meta-analysis, the study included 2,270 people with depression.

When the data was all put together, the result of the meta-analysis showed that St. John’s wort is more effective than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). More people on St. John’s wort than on SSRI’s had improvements on the Hamilton Depression Scale.

The researchers conclude that St. John’s wort “is a more effective and better alternative for the treatment of depression.” Because St. John’s wort is more effective, safer, inexpensive and easily available, they say that “based on the current meta-analysis . . . the use of SJW [St. John’s wort] for depression in adults is strongly recommended.”

Adv Clin Exp Med. 2023;32(2):151–161.

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