Family
- Hyperaceae
Constituents
- Hypericin
- Hyperforin
- Flavonoids
Parts used
- Flowering Sums (St. John's Wort flowers)
- St. John's wort oil
Properties
In internal use
- Antidepressant
- Anxiolytic
In external use
- Disinfectant
- Antiviral agent
- Antibacterial
- Cicatrizant
Indications
In internal use
Note: In general, the duration of treatment is at least 4 to 6 weeks.
The effect occurs most often only after 10 days of taking the medicine for the first time.
In external use
Side effects
Significant increase in body temperature and blood pressure with risk of hypertension.
Other possible side effects: anxiety, panic attacks, drowsiness, vomiting, amnesia, and aggression.
Contraindications
Allergy, lactation, and pregnancy.
Severe depression.
Interactions (in internal use)
St. John's wort (an enzyme inducer) can interact with many drugs and reduce their effectiveness, more specifically by lowering the drug concentration in the blood.
The drugs affected by this interaction are usually: oral anticoagulants, oral contraceptives (birth control pills), theophylline, cyclosporine, the immunosuppressants, digitalis derivatives, antivirals such as indinavir and other HIV drugs, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with a potential risk of suffering a fatal serotoninergic syndrome, etc.
It should be noted that it is hyperforin (an active ingredient in St. John's wort or St. John's wort) that is responsible for most of these interactions.
It would be important to favor preparations with no or very low hyperforin content.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist for more information about these interactions.
Forms of use
In internal use
- Tablets
- Capsules (e.g. 100 mg dry extract of Hypericum perforatum, equivalent to 0.30 mg hypericin)
- Infusion
- Tincture
- Maceration
In external use