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St. John's wort Ayurveda

Informational only. Do not stop prescribed treatment; seek emergency care when needed.

Evidence level: moderate (mild depression), high interaction risk

Some evidence for mild depression, but it interacts with many vital medicines.

Safety: Can make birth control, HIV, transplant, heart and cancer medicines stop working; serotonin syndrome with antidepressants.

Quality concerns: Some Ayurvedic rasa shastra and bhasma products deliberately contain metals; US FDA and CDC have reported lead poisoning cases, and studies found lead, mercury or arsenic in a share of products sold online.

What it is

A flowering plant.

Traditional use (claimed)

Depression.

Evidence

Some evidence for mild depression, but it interacts with many vital medicines.

Safety

Can make birth control, HIV, transplant, heart and cancer medicines stop working; serotonin syndrome with antidepressants.

Quality concerns

Some Ayurvedic rasa shastra and bhasma products deliberately contain metals; US FDA and CDC have reported lead poisoning cases, and studies found lead, mercury or arsenic in a share of products sold online.

Interactions

Birth control pills, warfarin, digoxin, HIV medicines, cyclosporine, antidepressants.

Avoid if

anyone on prescription medicines without advice, pregnancy

Regulation in Nepal

Herbal products in Nepal are registered with the Department of Drug Administration (DDA). Nepal: the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine (DoAA, Ministry of Health and Population) runs government Ayurveda hospitals and clinics; practitioners register with the Nepal Ayurveda Medical Council. Ask to see the council registration.

Regulation in India

India: the Ministry of AYUSH regulates Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy; practitioners register with the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) or the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH).

Regulation in UAE

UAE: complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and products need licensing by the emirate health authority (DHA in Dubai, DoH in Abu Dhabi, MOHAP elsewhere). Check the licence on the authority's public register.

Related conditions

Informational only; not a treatment recommendation.

entry_health_condition_depression

Sources: SI summary (own words); NCCIH Herbs at a Glance; FDA and CDC advisories; NLM MedlinePlus (NLM-authored only) · Reference · Reference · Reference · Reference

AlifZetta text CC BY 4.0 (own words). NCCIH, FDA and CDC are US government works (public domain), used as references.

Emergency — call102