St. John's wort (Нуреricum реrfоrаtum)

The potentials for medical use of St. John's wort as external antiseptic agent, and for the treatment of depression and gastrointestinal diseases are presented. The basic active substances of herb Hypericum perforatum are condensed anthracene derivatives - hypericin and pseudohypericin. The article is concerned with current St. John's wort herbal preparation, and side effects and drug interactions limiting the therapeutic application are discussed.

St. John's wort, hypericin, depression, drug interaction