New Study Shows St. John's Wort to Be More Effective than Prescription Drug

The British Medical Journal published a study that compared head-to-head a standardized extract of St. John's Wort with a prescription antidepressant drug. The randomized, double-blind reference-controlled trial showed that patients using the herb experienced significantly better improvement in their depression as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Researchers also noted that St. John's Wort users experienced significantly fewer adverse side effects than the drug. All of the patients, aged 18 to 70, had been diagnosed with moderate to severe levels of depression.