HERBAL remedies may work if you’re a bit low but if you’re seriously
depressed, a new study says they may be no better than a sugar pill.
Previous studies have found that the herb St John’s wort (Hypericum
perforatum) was as effective as some commercial antidepressants
(New Scientist, 9 September 2000, p 23).
But Richard Shelton, a psychiatrist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville,
Tennessee, says that many of these trials were flawed.
Shelton gave 200 patients with moderate or severe depression St John’s wort
or a placebo for eight months. At the end of the study, Shelton…
