St. John's Wort
Family: Hypercaceae
Common names: Tipton's weed, chase-devil, or Klamath weed.
Part Used: Flowers, Leaf
In the fifth century B.C.E., the Greek physician Hippocrates was one of the first to document therapeutic uses of St. John’s wort (SJW). It rose from virtual obscurity in the U.S. to become the fifth best-selling dietary supplement in mainstream retail stores in the U.S. after major media coverage of clinical research documenting its relative safety and efficacy for treating mild to moderate depression.
An upright perennial herb with thin, opposite elliptical leaves with translucent dots, bright yellow flowers. Crushing the yellow flowers yields a blood-red juice due to coloring pigments in the petals.
1. St. John's wort shows great promise as an antiviral and antiinflammatory agent and is being researched for its potential benefit to AIDS patients.
2. It has long been used as a remedy for uterine cramping, mild depression, bedwetting, and anxiety.
3. St. John's wort is used internally and externally for pain relief. One of its main active ingredients, hypericin, is a strong antiinflammatory and can penetrate through the skin when applied locally as an oil.
4. This warming and soothing oil is used externally for wounds, nerve pain, trauma due to tension or accidents, and burns. The oil or tincture applied locally is one of the most effective remedies available to help reduce the redness and itching of poison oak rashes and quickly reduce the pain of a scrape or burn.
5. Herbalists always think of St. John's wort for healing nerve trauma due to injury or chronic disease.
6. Modern research from Europe has shown the whole plant extract to be as effective as a popularly prescribed drug for mild depression.
7. To make an oil, grind enough fresh flowering tops (traditionally harvested on St. John's day-June 24th) to nearly fill a given quantity of olive oil. Wait for 2 weeks, strain and filter the oil, and then bottle for use. A traditional way of making the oil and effectively increasing the intensity of its red color is to make the infusion in the direct sun.
Other Benefits
8. Seasonal Affective Disorder
9. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
10. Menopause
11. Fatigue
12. Pediatric nocturnal incontinence
13. PMS
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