St John's wort

the herb of St John's wort (Hyperici herba)

St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial with yellow flowers and leaves that look perforated when held to the light; those are not holes but oil glands. The most reliable sign is the test with the fingers: squeeze a flower bud and the fingers stain red. It grows in dry meadows, beside paths and on embankments.

The flowering top is gathered, and that around midsummer, by folk tradition on St John's day, 24 June, from which the plant takes its name. It is gathered at midday, in dry weather, when the flowers are open. For tea it is dried in the shade; for the oil macerate the fresh flowers are put into oil at once.

The oil macerate, the tea and a standardised dry extract are three different preparations with different uses and different risks, and they are not interchangeable. In Ašič's collection it appears as St John's Wort Oil, the most sought after product in the collection.

Use and evidence

Some standardised extracts taken by mouth have well established use for mild to moderate depressive episodes, while other preparations have only traditional uses. Self-treatment of serious depression is not appropriate. EMA 1, EMA 2.