St. Johns Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant :: Botany

St. Johns Wort...A special(a) Name for an Interesting PlantThere is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the sometime(prenominal) with prescription doses such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal remedy known as St. Johns wort (3).St. Johns wort, similarly known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a dose (5). In Germany, St Johns wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by most 3,000% during the preceding(a) year (5) This herbal is effective for mi ld to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. Johns wort seems a exchangeable(p) the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it.St. Johns Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its bloom period is in July. It can be found growing of course in Kentucky and Tennessee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum afterwards St. John the Baptist. Wort is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. Johns Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. Johns blood (7). The active chemical in St . Johns wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The settle of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently.St. Johns Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant BotanySt. Johns Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting PlantThere is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the past with prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal remedy known as St. Johns wort (3).St. Johns wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a drug (5). In Germany, St Johns wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by intimately 3,000% during the past year (5) This herbal is effective for mild to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. Johns wort seems like the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it.St. Johns Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its bloom period is in July. It can be found growing naturally in Kentucky and Tenness ee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum after St. John the Baptist. Wort is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. Johns Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. Johns blood (7). The active chemical in St. Johns wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The train of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently.