Weekly Dose: St John's Wort, the flower that can treat depression
- Written by The Conversation Contributor
St John’s Wort, botanical name Hypericum perforatum, is considered a weed in temperate climates outside its native homelands of Europe, Asia and North Africa. The flowering tops and aerial parts of the plant are used medicinally in the form of tinctures and tablets to treat a number of conditions affecting the nervous and immune systems.
Records of the medicinal use of St John’s Wort date back to ancient Greece. It is believed Dioscorides and Hippocrates used it to cleanse the body of evil spirits. Since the times of the Swiss physician and botanist Paracelsus (1493-1541), St John’s Wort has traditionally been used to treat nerve pain, anxiety, neurosis and depression and externally for bruises, wounds and shingles.
Authors: The Conversation Contributor
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