Thursday October 9, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Feeling depressed, but reluctant to take prescription drugs because of their side effects?   It might be time for you to use St. John's Wort or Hypericum perforatum L.!   A new review concludes that this herbal remedy is as effective as standard antidepressants but with few side effects.

The review published today in the Cochrane Review analyzed 29 trials involving 5,489 men and women with symptoms of major depression which compared the efficacy of St' John's Wort with placebo and standard treatments.

The reviewers Klaus Linde of the Center for Complementary Medicine in Munich found St. John’s Wort extracts were not only effective, but also had fewer side effects and people taking the herbal remedy were more likely than those taking standard antidepressants to stick to the treatment.

St John's Wort was found to exert the effect by increasing the brain chemical serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine, a compound involved in controlling mood that is found in many mushrooms and some plants including fruits and vegetables.

The authors noted that St. John's Wort is more liked in Germany and other German speaking countries where doctors prescribe the herbal treatments. German doctors often receive training on use of alternative treatments.

The problem with using St John's Wort could be that the herbal preparations on the market are not standardized and in the United States where an estimate 20 million people suffer depression, doses are not allowed to be labeled for herbal remedies and people know nothing about effective dosages.