St John's wort as effective for major depression as standard antidepressants

Functional medicine treatment of the underlying biological component of depression involves much more than modulating serotonin activity (and taking only St John's Wort), but the results of this study are worth noting. After reviewing a total of 29 trials (5489 patients) that included 18 comparisons with placebo and 17 comparisons with synthetic standard antidepressants, the authors concluded: "The available evidence suggests that the hypericum extracts tested in the included trials a) are superior to placebo in patients with major depression; b) are similarly effective as standard antidepressants; c) and have fewer side effects than standard antidepressants." [Note: hypericum = St John's Wort]