Hypericum in a Nutshell

Here is the briefest possible summary of hypericum and the treatment of depression:

Hypericum is Hypericum Perforatum, also known as St. John's Wort (St. John the Baptist, not the Beloved). It is a short, yellow-flowering, wild-growing plant — healing herb to some; troublesome weed to others. It has a 2,400-year history of safe and effective usage in folk, herbal, and ancient medicine. Hypericum was prescribed as medicine by Hippocrates himself.

A series of recent double-blind, placebo-controlled studies indicate that a specific extract of Hypericum perforatum was as effective as prescription antidepressants but had far fewer side effects (thus available without a prescription for the treatment of mild to moderate depression) and cost considerably less — about 25 cents a day.

In Germany, more than fifty percent of depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders are treated with hypericum. Prozac has two percent.

Although many extracts are available containing St. John's Wort, only a handful (thus far—the gap will soon be filled by the free market place: Long live Milton Friedman!) of companies. These are listed in the section: How to Obtain Research-Grade Hypericum.

For more complete information on hypericum, you can read the complete text of the book Hypericum & Depression

All right. That's enough. You wanted this short.

Where to find National Institutes of Health tested St. Johns Wort