St John's wort: a potential therapy for elderly depressed patients?

St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) has a 2000-year history of use as a medicinal herb. Its modern application as a plant extract for treating depression has undergone scientific investigation over the last decade, and its effectiveness has been shown in studies comparing it with placebo and reference antidepressants. Our own work supports the contention that LI 160, the best-documented St John's wort medication, is effective at a high dosage even in patients with severe depression. Since the new Berlin Aging Study revealed significant treatment deficiencies among elderly depressive patients, St John's wort extracts may be a useful alternative to benzodiazepines to avoid nontreatment of early depression. Because St John's wort preparations have better tolerability than tricyclic antidepressants, elderly people in particular, can benefit from their use.