St. John's Wort As Effective As Drug in Treating Depression

New findings have been released that a unique St. John's Wort extract is as effective at improving mood as a popular antidepressant drug.

According to a randomized, double-blind, reference-controlled clinical study published in the British Medical Journal, the proprietary St. John's Wort extract WS(R) 5570 is at least as effective in treating depression and better tolerated by patients than the widely prescribed antidepressant paroxetine.

In the study, 251 patients with moderate-to-severe forms of depression were divided into two groups: one receiving 900 mg/day of WS(R) 5570, and the other 20 mg/day of paroxetine, for six weeks. Any patients not responding after two weeks had their dose doubled at that time. WS(R) 5570 produced a significantly better improvement in patients as measured by internationally accepted diagnostics such as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). In fact, WS(R) 5570 delivered a three point greater decrease in the average HAMD total score versus baseline than did paroxetine.

This clinically relevant superiority was further supported by a responder rate of 70 percent versus 60 percent and a remission rate of 50 percent versus 35 percent for WS(R) 5570 and paroxetine, respectively. In addition, all secondary efficacy measures, as well as a lower rate of adverse events, favored WS(R) 5570.

Results are consistent with an earlier double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 375 depressed patients published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, in which the same St. John's Wort extract WS(R) 5570 was clearly superior to placebo.