Dose: 1-10 drops; Dosage: 1-3x per day

St. John’s Wort is commonly is used in the treatment of depression, insomnia, exhaustion, somatoform disorders, nervousness, and convalescence; in addition to its uses as a remedy for skin diseases, superficial injury, mucosal lesions, and gastrointestinal illness.

Saint John’s wort extracts have been shown in multiple laboratory animal studies to bind at GABA A and GABA B receptors, to inhibit GABA reuptake, to evoke GABA release, and to exert anxiolytic-like effects that are blocked by the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil.

Six classes of compounds in St. John’s wort extracts are believed to be its active components:

1. Naphthodianthones (i.e., hypericin, pseudohypericin)

2. Acylphloroglucinols (i.e., hyperforin, adhyperforin)

3. Proanthocyanidins

4. Flavanol glycosides

5. Phenylpropanes

6. Biflavones

Although hypericin was formerly believed to be the principal active compound in St. John’s wort, more recent evidence suggests that hyperforin is more important for its antidepressant effects. Hyperforin has the following actions:

• Inhibition of serotonin reuptake

• Weak in vitro inhibition of MAO A and B (demonstrated in one report but not confirmed in several others)

• Inhibition of norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake

• High affinity for GABA_A and GABA_B receptors, as well as adenosine, dopamine, and benzodiazepine receptors

• Significant increase in the metabolism of many concurrently used drugs by induction of cytochrome P-450 microsomal enzymes to nearly double their metabolic activity