GERMANY:Herbal extract St John's Wort can be as good at lifting depression as pharmaceutical drugs such as Prozac, a study has found.
A review of research evidence concluded that the extract was as effective as standard antidepressants but had fewer side effects.
Scientists pooled together data from 29 studies involving 5,489 patients with mild to moderately severe depression. The studies compared the effects of the plant hypericum perforatum - known as "St John's Wort" - with "dummy" placebos or a wide range of old and new antidepressants.
"Overall, the St John's Wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard antidepressants, and had fewer side effects than standard antidepressants," the researchers reported.
The team was led by Dr Klaus Linde, from the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany.
The remedy is only available in Ireland on prescription. It was removed from the shelves of health stores in Ireland in 2000 by the Irish Medicines Board amid concerns that it had negative reactions with other medicines.
- (PA)