Natural antidepressant has its limits
By Linda Wang
For over 2,000 years, people have been taking St. John’s wort to escape bouts of anxiety and depression. But this plant with small yellow flowers isn’t for everybody, according to a new study.
St. John’s wort, now popular as an ingredient in herbal remedies, doesn’t help people with moderate or severe forms of depression, concludes the team of psychiatrists that conducted the study. Since the risks of inadequate treatment for major depression are so high, the scientists conclude that people with serious depression “should not be treated with St. John’s wort.”