St. John's wort has multiple effects, mainly including antidepressant, sleep improvement, pain relief, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti anxiety.
Antidepressants and Sleep Improvement
St. John's wort extract is widely used to treat mild and moderate depression, with better efficacy than placebo and fewer side effects than traditional tricyclic antidepressants. It improves mood and alleviates depressive symptoms by inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters, increasing the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. In addition, St. John's wort can help alleviate anxiety symptoms, help people relax and improve sleep quality.
Pain relief and anti-inflammatory
St. John's wort has anti-inflammatory effects, which can inhibit the release of inflammatory factors, reduce the body's inflammatory response, and have a certain relieving effect on inflammation related diseases such as arthritis. In addition, it also has antibacterial effect, inhibiting a variety of bacteria and fungi, and is helpful to prevent and treat infectious diseases.
Other functions
The main component of St. John's wort, hypericin, is a photosensitive substance that can trigger photochemical and photobiological reactions, ultimately leading to irreversible photodamage to tumor cells. It is used to treat leukemia and other conditions. In addition, St. John's wort also has the effects of repairing nerve damage, promoting skin wound healing, improving blood circulation, and promoting bile secretion.