Mood Regulators Research Report

St. John's Wort flowerLuminex® by Melaleuca

Researched and Written by Brenda Templin

Alternatives for Promoting Emotional Health and Well-Being

This report is on St. John's Wort, Griffonia Seed, Folate and Vitamin B12, which are key ingredients in Melaleuca's Luminex®. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, estimated sales of St. John's Wort was $400 million in 1998. Although on its own it is generally safe and rarely causes any side effects, it is always recommended that you inform your health care practitioner if you are taking any over-the-counter medication or natural health products, as they can react adversely with some prescription drugs.

Brenda Templin

St. John's Wort in Luminex® by Melaleuca
This article, Experts Reconfirm Safety and Benefits of St. John's Wort for Combating Mild to Moderate Symptoms of Depression, with the Council for Responsible Nutrition, cites evidence that St. John's Wort is a safe herb to use to treat mild depression.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is a trade association founded in 1973 and represents approximately 100 companies in the dietary supplement industry, including ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN members adhere to a strong Code of Ethics, comply with dosage limits and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under good manufacturing practices.

Dr. Michael T. Murray, N.D. discusses the results of clinical trials using St. John's Wort for depression and clinical trials comparing it with antidepressants. This article is titled Depression; scroll down to the St. John's Wort Extract section.

Michael T. Murray, N.D. is widely regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on natural medicine. He is a graduate, faculty member, and serves on the Board of Trustees of Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Murray is the co-author of A Textbook of Natural Medicine, the definitive textbook on naturopathic medicine for physicians, as well as the consumer version - Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. He has also written over 20 other books including 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia. He has personally collected over 50,000 articles from the scientific literature which provide strong evidence on the effectiveness of diet, vitamins, minerals, glandular extracts, herbs, and other natural measures in the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease. According to Dr. Murray, "One of the great myths about natural medicines is that they are not scientific. The fact of the matter is that for most common illnesses there is greater support in the medical literature for a natural approach than there is for drugs or surgery."

In this research review, St. John's Wort for Unexplained Fatigue by Evelyn Leigh of The Herb Research Foundation, the effectiveness of St. John's Wort in alleviating symptoms of tiredness and fatigue in depressed patients is discussed.
The Herb Research Foundation (HRF)is a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to improving world health through the informed use of herbs. HRF is internationally recognized as one of the foremost sources of scientific information on medical plants.

Another article on the Herb Research Foundation website reveals that, for the first time, at the 1998 American Psychiatric Association Meeting, the field of psychiatry is considering the importance of herbs, including St. John's Wort, in mental health. American psychiatric meeting uplifted by St. John's wort

Griffonia Seed Extract (5-HTP) in Luminex® by Melaleuca
This article 5-Hydroxytryptophan: A Clinically-Effective Serotonin Precursor by Timothy C. Birdsall, N.D. was published in the August 1998 edition of Alternative Medicine Review.
Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid in Luminex® by Melaleuca
In this excerpt from Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, Vitamin B12, Elson M. Haas M.D. gives an excellent description of Vitamin B12, how it is used by the body and the necessity of its presence in the body. He covers folic acid equally as well in this article Folic Acid.
Elson M. Haas, M.D. practices Integrated Medicine and is founder and director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin, San Rafael, CA. He incorporates natural and pharmaceutical therapies in his medical practice and has authored several books. He writes and lectures extensively on topics relating to Preventive Medicine, Nutrition, and Detoxification and has appeared on numerous radio and television news and talk shows.

Here are some medical abstracts that might be of interest:
Folate, vitamin B12, and neuropsychiatric disorders

Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in major depressive disorder

Nutrition and depression: the role of folate

Comments From Your Researcher — Luminex® by Melaleuca

Since St. John's Wort's effectiveness in mood elevation is accomplished by increasing levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters found in the brain, it should never be taken in conjunction with psychotropic medicines including Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepression drugs. SSRIs (Prozac being one), also elevate the levels of brain chemicals.

A recent clinical trial showed that St. John's Wort should not be taken with indinavir, a protese inhibitor used to treat HIV infections. Taken together, presence of indinavir in the blood stream was significantly decreased and it was suggested that this interaction could not only decrease the drug's effectiveness, but could also promote the development of viral resistance to the drug.

It is also suggested that St. John's Wort should not be taken in conjuction with medication for epilepsy, digoxin for a heart condition, the blood thinner Warfarin, theophylline tablets for asthma or chronic bronchitis, or Cyclosporin administered after transplants.

One more thing to consider...not all brands of St. John's Wort are equal! Always choose a brand formulated with only the highest quality standardized St. John's Wort containing 0.3% hypericin to insure uniform potency and consistent quality.

Brenda Templin

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