Natural Remedies & Herbs for Depression

St. John’s wort extracts are among the leading medicines used in Germany by medical doctors for the treatment of mild to moderate depression. Using St. John’s wort extract can significantly relieve the symptoms of depression. People taking St. John’s wort show an improvement in mood and ability to carry out their daily routine. Symptoms such as sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, exhaustion, and poor sleep also decrease.

St. John’s wort extract has been compared to the prescription tricyclic antidepressants imipramine (Tofranil®), amitriptyline (Elavil®), fluoxetine (Prozac®), and maprotiline (Ludiomil®). The improvement in symptoms of mild to moderate depression was similar, with notably fewer side effects, in people taking St. John’s wort.

In a double-blind trial using standard amounts of fluoxetine (Prozac®)—20 mg per day—St. John’s wort extract in the amount of 400 mg twice daily was equally effective at relieving depression in people aged 60–80 years. Another trial found that 250 mg of St. John’s wort extract two times per day was also as effective as 20 mg of fluoxetine in treating adults with mild to moderate depression. In both trials comparing St. John’s wort to fluoxetine, there were far fewer side effects reported by people taking St. John’s wort...