OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of the fixed combination of black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) and St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) extracts in women with climacteric complaints with a pronounced psychological component. METHODS In this double-blind randomized placebo-control study, 301 women experiencing climacteric complaints with psychological symptoms were treated with ethanol...

St John's wort (SJW), an extract of the medicinal plant Hypericum perforatum, is widely used as a herbal antidepressant. Recently, this agent has been found to adversely affect the metabolism of various coadministered drugs. Steroid X receptor (SXR), an orphan nuclear receptor, induces hepatic cytochrome P450 gene expression in response to diverse endogenous steroids, xenobiotics and drugs. Her...

Patients 200 physically healthy outpatients who were >18 years of age (mean age 42.4 y, 64% women); had MD (single episode or recurrent) without psychotic features according to DSM-IV for >4 weeks; and scored >20 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Exclusion criteria included current cognitive, post-traumatic stress, eating, or substance use disorders in the past 6 months; panic dis...

Author’s Affiliation: 1Asst Prof, Dept of Community Medicine, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla; 2Asso Prof, Dept of Community Medicine, St Johns Medical College Hospital, Bangalore; 3Research Associate, Centre for Ageing Research and Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore; 4Intern; 5Assit Prof; 6Medical Officer, Plantations; 7Professor & Head, Dept of Community Medic...

Hypericum perforatum L. (St. Johns’ wort) is the most commercially important species of the genus Hypericum and contains a wide range of components including naphthodianthrones, phloroglucinols, tannins, xanthones, phenolic acids and essential oil. In order to establish an efficient protocol for regeneration, the effects of explant type and plant growth regulators on direct and indirect shoot r...

Heavy metals polluting the natural environment are absorbed by plants. The use of herbs as components of cosmetics may pose a health risk for humans. The aim of the study was to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg in selected species of herbs (horsetail Equisetum arvense, nettle Urtica dioica, St. John's wort Hypericum perforatum, wormwood Artemisia absinthium, yarrow Achillea millefo...

Patients: 184 people aged 18–65 years with somatisation disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, and somatoform autonomic dysfunction (somatic subscore of the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA-SOM) .12 and the psychic subscore (HAMA-PSY) of 5 points below HAMA-SOM). For inclusion, participants required a Somatoform Disorders Screening Instrument (SOM) SOMS-2 (number of 53 conditions present i...

although some alternative therapies like botanical and herbal therapies have shown promise for relieving menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, more research is needed. eighty-five percent of the women in the united states experience hot flashes of some kind as they approach menopause and for the first year or two after their periods stop. between 20 and 50% of women continue to have them for ...