St John's Wort Extract WS® 5570 is More Effective than Placebo for Major Depression
Author Information
Author(s): Kasper Siegfried, Anghelescu Ion-George, Szegedi Armin, Dienel Angelika, Kieser Meinhard
Primary Institution: Vienna Medical University
Hypothesis
Does St John's wort extract WS® 5570 show superior efficacy compared to placebo in treating major depression?
Conclusion
St John's wort extract WS® 5570 at doses of 600 mg/day and 1200 mg/day is safe and more effective than placebo for treating mild to moderate major depression.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients taking WS® 5570 showed a mean decrease in HAM-D scores of 11.6 points compared to 6.0 points for placebo.
- Responder rates were approximately 70% for WS® 5570 600 mg/day and 61% for WS® 5570 1200 mg/day, compared to 32% for placebo.
- Remission rates were about 33% for WS® 5570 600 mg/day and 40% for WS® 5570 1200 mg/day, versus 15% for placebo.
- Both WS® 5570 groups were statistically superior to placebo in reducing depression scores.
- The incidence of adverse events was low and consistent with known profiles for Hypericum extract.
Takeaway
This study found that a herbal treatment called St John's wort helps people feel better when they are sad, more than a fake pill does.
Methodology
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial over 6 weeks with 332 adult outpatients diagnosed with mild to moderate major depression.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the lack of a placebo run-in phase and the subjective nature of self-reported outcomes.
Limitations
The study did not include a placebo wash-out period and had a relatively short treatment duration.
Participant Demographics
Adult outpatients aged 18 to 65 with mild to moderate major depression.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website