St. John’s Wort :: Depression Medicine Medical Plant Papers

St. capers WortWhat is St. Johns Wort? St. Johns Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) is a small plant with bright yellow flowers. Wort is an old English term that means plant. The red spots on the leaves of the plant are symbolical of the blood of St. John after his beheading. The plant is grown worldwide simply it grows especially well in parts of Northern California and Southern surgery (http//www.doctormurray.com/articles/worteditorial.htm).St. Johns Wort has not been well known in the United States until recently. Studies on the medicine go for been going on for decades in Europe. German doctors have been prescribing it and the insurance companies have been paying for it. It is available in many health shops in the United States and all across Europe but recently it has been change out because of its increased popularity. In the United States, manufacturers cant advertise it as a treatment for depression and doctors cant prescribe it because the FDA (Federal drug Administra tion) wont allow it. It has to be advertised as a contribution to emotional balance and positive outlook or promoting a gumption of balance for people with mild depression, not severe or major depression. St. Johns Wort comes in one of three forms liquid, capsule, and dried form. (http//www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychological science/health_psychologyStJohn.htm)What is the purpose of St. Johns Wort? St. Johns Wort use for depression, insomnia, and anxiety inspired a group of German doctors in the 1980s to do search on the herb. The findings of their studies brought the group fame in the late 1990s. A number of studies indicate that St. Johns is an effective treatment for treating mild-to-moderate depression (http//www.mothernature.com/cg/stjohns.asp).St. Johns is apace becoming the most popular herbal drug in the United States. German physicians prescribed a total of 66 million daily doses in 1994. These German physicians now prescribe St. Johns wort an average of 8 times more than Prozac. These doctors claim that St. Johns wort produces better results in relieving depression, but the medicine does not have near the amount of side effects as Prozac (http//www.doctormurray.com/articles/worteditorial.htm). How does St. Johns Wort work? Originally, scientists thought that the reason St. Johns worked as an antidepressant was due to a substance called hypericin.