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St. John's Wort Lab Tests

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Please read this important message from our Scientific Advisory Board about how we rated these products. What we tested for… Independent lab analysis was obtained for each product to determine the actual content of the two most active ingredients in St. John’s Wort, hyperforin and hypericin. Although most St. John’s Wort products are now standardized to 0.3% hypericin, recent literature has detemined that it is the hyperforin component that has the major antidepressant activity, functioning to block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. However, it appears to do so through a different mechanism, and this may account for the better side effect profile. The usual recommendation for St. John’s Wort product is 300 mg three times a day of a product standardized to 0.3% hypericin—and this usually all the information you’ll find on today’s product labels. However, because of our findings about hyperforin, during our lab testing and product review process, we placed a greater emphasis on the hyperforin content, for the reasons Dr. Schaller explained in the introduction. Therefore, based on our scientific literature review, we have established an additional standardization of 3% hyperforin. Consequently, the optimal levels based on the latest science are 2.7 mg/day of hypericin and 27 mg/day of hyperforin. How we tested the levels of these two key ingredients… The independent, FDA-certified testing laboratory that we utilized for these tests used a high pressure liquid chromatograph (HPLC) which is state-of-the-art. HPLC is considerably more accurate than the DAC86 method (Deutscher Arzneimittel Codex) which is still in use today. The DAC method was developed in the 1940's and is clearly outdated and subject to potential spurious results. We have no way of knowing what method manufacturers used in the formulation of their products, which could be one reason for the variances we observed. It should be acknowledged that we at vitacost.com carry only the most well respected, reputable nutriceutical brands and the fact that many of these individual products did not pass our rigorous testing in no way reflects on any of the other fine products from these companies. Products were rated for each of four categories: 1. Superiority of nutrient levels- this was based on actual content of hyperforin and hypericin, and products were rank ordered. 2. Expected overall effectiveness of the formulation- this was based on the content of active ingredient when administered at the typical recommended dose of St. John’s Wort of 300 mg three times each day 3. Safety of the formulation-Does the product contain ingredients that are potentially dangerous or harmful? 4. Value compared to similar products- The monthly cost of each product was compared and the efficacy factored in. Products were then assigned a final score based on an average of the four categories, and rank ordered from best value to worst value, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst Summary of Results: The only two products that we tested to achieve better than 90% content of hyperforin were Nature’s Way Standardized Extract and Natrol’s Mood Support. All other products contained less than optimal dosage of the active hyperforin component, and in some were either minimal or not even detected (see product descriptions below). Since the hyperforin content has thus far been determined to be the most active component, only products achieving a passing score (90%) for hyperforin should be used. Nature’s Way Standardized St. John’s Wort has a superior hyperforin content, and at $7.50/month, represents an outstanding value compared to other herbal products. This also represents an even better value compared to many prescription antidepressants, which cost in excess of $100/month.

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