5 Health Benefits of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

December 9, 2023 Agric4Profits

St. John’s wort (SJW) known botanically as Hypericum perforatum usage is safe when taken orally for up to three months, and some study suggests it can be used safely for longer than one year.

The negative effects of St. John’s wort include difficulty sleeping, vivid nightmares, restlessness, anxiety, irritability, upset stomach, weariness, dry mouth, headaches, skin rash, diarrhea, and tingling.

Remember that it typically takes weeks or even months for the advantages of St. John’s wort to become apparent. Increasing your dose won’t make it start working right away because it is not a quick-acting medication for diseases like depression. Give it some time, please.

You must give it some time. Wear sunscreen outside, especially if you have light skin, as St. John’s wort can induce severe solar responses when taken in high doses.

St. John’s wort is probably safe for kids between the ages of 6 and 17, but they shouldn’t take it for longer than eight weeks. It is not advised for women who are pregnant or nursing to take St. John’s wort.

Before using St. John’s wort, there are a few health warnings that should be taken into account. The ability of St. John’s wort components to produce intestinal or hepatic enzymes that either remove medications from the body or reduce them to inactive forms is what causes these interactions, according to recent studies.

According to some studies, it can make it more difficult to get pregnant, exacerbate ADHD symptoms in people who are already taking medication, cause manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, cause dementia in people with Alzheimer’s disease, and trigger psychosis in some schizophrenia patients.

Be cautious if you experience an allergic reaction, weariness or restlessness, an increase in blood pressure, an increased sensitivity to the sun, or an upset stomach when taking St. John’s wort.

Since more than 2,000 years ago, St. John’s wort, also known as hypericum perforatum, has been used as a medicine for its antidepressant and anti-inflammatory effects. Using St. John’s wort for its therapeutic benefits, the ancients thought the plant had magical and protecting properties.

What St. John’s wort does for the body can be a query on your mind if you haven’t used this potent herb before. St. John’s wort has been used to treat conditions such as various neurological or mood problems.

5 Health Benefits of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

1. Helps Relive Premature Menstrual Symptoms

St. John’s wort has been used to naturally treat PMS symptoms like melancholy, chronic fatigue, and hormone imbalance because of its mood-boosting properties.

36 women between the ages of 18 and 45 participated in a study at the Institute of Psychological Sciences in the United Kingdom. They were diagnosed with mild PMS and had regular menstrual cycles.

For the first two menstrual cycles, the women were randomly randomized to receive St. John’s wort tablets at 900 mg per day or identical placebo tablets; after that, the groups exchanged doses for the following two cycles.

The Daily Symptom Report was used throughout the experiment to collect daily ratings of symptoms, and the women provided information on their experiences with depression, aggression, hormone balance, and hormonal stimulation.

2. Helps Improves Mood During Menopause

One of the potential applications for St. John’s wort is as a herbal treatment for menopause’s psychological and physical symptoms. In research from Berlin that was published in Advance in Therapy, 111 women between the ages of 43 and 65 took one 900-milligram tablet three times each day for 12 weeks as part of the treatment. The premenopausal and postmenopausal symptoms were present in all of the subjects.

The Menopause Rating Measure, a self-created questionnaire for gauging sexuality, and the Clinical Global Impression scale were used to assess the effectiveness of the medication.

After five, eight, and twelve weeks of treatment, the frequency, and intensity of common psychological, psychosomatic, and vasomotor symptoms were noted to validate the findings.

Menopausal complaints decreased or disappeared entirely in 76 percent of the women treated, and after treatment, sexual well-being also improved, showing that St. John’s wort uses include providing natural menopause relief. Significant improvements in psychological and psychosomatic symptoms were also noted.

3. Reduces Inflammation

The antibacterial qualities of St. John’s wort may also aid in the fight against inflammation, which is the cause of the majority of diseases. It functions as a natural treatment for eczema, a home remedy for burn relief, and a method to naturally treat hemorrhoids when applied topically. It also relieves symptoms related to minor wounds and skin irritations.

Due to its inhibition of pro-inflammatory genes such as cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, and inducible nitric oxide synthase, St. John’s wort has anti-inflammatory capabilities. These genes are important in the development of chronic inflammatory disorders.

For thousands of years, people have used St. John’s wort extracts to cure cuts and abrasions. Its well-known value in reducing inflammation appears to be connected to its capacity to operate as an antibacterial agent.

In a 2003 trial, 18 eczema patients received twice-daily treatment for four weeks. Following the experiment, skin tolerance and cosmetic acceptance of the St. John’s wort cream were acceptable or excellent, and the severity of the skin lesions at the treatment locations improved.

Additionally, a St. John’s wort extract treatment for pressure sore wounds in an intensive care unit patient showed considerable efficacy in a 2017 case study.

4. Helps Improve OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental illness in which sufferers cannot regulate their thoughts or behaviors but must constantly engage in the same behaviors. The research that suggests St. John’s wort has beneficial effects are thus encouraging given that this ailment can be crippling.

A study that was conducted examined 12 patients with OCD who had been prescribed a fixed dose of 450 mg of St. John’s wort at a concentration of 0.3% twice daily for 12 weeks.

Weekly assessments using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the Patient Global Impressions of Improvement Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions of Improvement scale, as well as a monthly assessment using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, were all part of the study.

Within a week, there were noticeable alterations, and they grew more pronounced during the course of the experiment. On the clinician-rated CGI at the endpoint, five of the 12 patients received ratings of “much” or “very much improved,” six received ratings of “minimally better,” and one had a rating of no change.

The most often reported negative effects were diarrhea and insomnia. Researchers think St. John’s wort may be a useful tool in treating OCD and more placebo-controlled studies should be conducted in the future. Improvement started at one week and grew over time.

5. Anticancer

According to research, St. John’s wort can treat both nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancer cells by slowing the growth of tumor cells. Researchers contend that St. John’s wort is an efficient cancer treatment that is widely accessible because it is a naturally occurring plant that has demonstrated considerable anticancer efficacy.

Hyperforin, a derivative found in St. John’s wort, is a substance that interferes with crucial processes in angiogenesis, the development, and the proliferation of cells, according to research.

As a result, it becomes a promising drug for further investigation in the treatment of angiogenesis-related pathologies. This confirms the recent and growing evidence about the potential role of this compound in cancer and metastasis inhibition.