Industry Addresses St. John's Wort Concerns

WASHINGTON--The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in collaboration with the American Botanical Council (ABC) held a media briefing regarding the much ballyhooed St. John's wort study published in the April 17 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (285, 15:1978-86, 2001). In that report, researchers stated that the herb did not treat severe depression. When mainstream media reported on the study, headlines stated that St. John's wort is inefficacious for all depression. (For more on this story, visit www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/14h1715453.html.)

In the briefing held at the National Press Club here, a panel led by John Cardellina, vice president of botanical science and regulatory affairs at CRN (www.crnusa.org), presented scientific facts and clinical anecdotes that supported the benefits of St. John's wort on mild to moderate depression. The media attending this briefing included Reuters, Bloomberg and Prevention magazine.

The panel consisted of three medical professionals sharing their views on this herb: Jerry Cott, Ph.D., a neuropsychopharmacologist who has worked at the National Institute of Mental Health; Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., an assistant clinical professor at the University of New Mexico School of medicine and a member of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy; and Norman Rosenthal, M.D., a psychiatrist at Georgetown Medical Center.

This panel, after reviewing the clinical and scientific evidence regarding the safety and benefits of St. John's wort, found that there is a strong and consistent body of evidence that this herb is safe for consumers in relieving stress and mild to moderate symptoms of depression with few adverse effects.

"I must emphasize that it's best use is for people with mild to moderate symptoms, people with slightly decreased enjoyment of life, difficulty in their work and relationships, but not people who are severely depressed, suicidal or dysfunctional with regard to their sleeping and eating," Rosenthal stated.

Of course, not every person's body chemistry is the same, and different things work for different people. However, with a proven track record of helping ease everything from mood swings associated with PMS (premenstrual syndrome) to SAD (seasonal affective disorder), people should not discount the potential benefits of this herb. "I think that St. John's wort is a very appropriate first-line treatment for many people with mild depression," Low Dog said.

The panel also addressed concerns about people on the HIV drug indinavir taking St. John's wort concomitantly. "I think the bottom line is to know that anyone with a severe medical condition who's taking medications that are keeping them alive should be extremely careful about anything they put in their mouth," advised Cott.

The briefing ended with the panel cautioning the media in attendance that a study to be released within the next month or two should be taken with a grain of salt. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) compared St. John's wort to an antidepressant drug while treating severe depression.

John Cordaro, CRN president and chief executive officer, said that this briefing was a beginning, not an end. Future goals include reinforcing the safety and benefits of St. John's wort, diffusing the potential negative impact of the NIH study, establishing CRN as a credible resource and educating members of the media about this and other herbs in order to generate more accurate news stories.

Other press events CRN plans to hold include releasing an expanded report on the benefits of supplements and another one on the safety of supplements.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines