Study/location	Sample/number	Agents/dosage	Outcome
Cochrane Review Linde, 19969 various locations	Systematic review of 27 studies (n = 2,291) examining the treatment of depression	St. John’s wort (350 to 1,800 mg) daily	St. John’s wort was superior to placebo and as effective as standard antidepressants.
Wheatley, 199710 United Kingdom	Moderate depressive disorder (HAM-D; n = 165)	St. John’s wort (900 mg) versus amitriptyline (Elavil; 75 mg) daily for six weeks	Both treatments were equally effective.
Philipp, 199911 Germany	Moderate depressive disorder (HAM-D; n = 263)	St. John’s wort (1,050 mg) versus imipramine (Tofranil; 100 mg) versus placebo daily	St. John’s wort was more effective than placebo and as effective as imipramine.
Harrer, 199912 Austria	Older patients with mild to moderate depression (HAM-D; n = 149)	St. John’s wort (800 mg) versus fluoxetine (Prozac; 20 mg) daily for six weeks	Both treatments were equally effective.
Schrader, 200013 Germany	Mild to moderate depression (HAM-D; n = 240)	St. John’s wort (500 mg) versus fluoxetine (20 mg) daily for six weeks	Both treatments were equally effective.
Woelk, 200014 Germany	Moderate depressive disorder (HAM-D; n = 324)	St. John’s wort (500 mg) versus imipramine (150 mg) daily for six weeks	Both treatments were equally effective.
Brenner, 200015 United States	Mild to moderate depression (HAM-D; n = 30)	St. John’s wort (900 mg) versus sertraline (Zoloft; 75 mg) daily for six weeks	St. John’s wort was at least as effective as sertraline.
Kalb, 200116 Germany	Mild to moderate major depressive disorder (HAM-D; n = 72)	St. John’s wort (900 mg) versus placebo daily for 42 days	St. John’s wort was superior to placebo at days 28 and 42.
Vorbach, 199717 multicenter	Severe depression as defined by ICD-10 (n = 209)	St. John’s wort (1,800 mg) versus imipramine (150 mg) daily for six weeks	Both treatments were equally effective (HAM-D).
Shelton, 200118 United States	Adult outpatients with major depression (baseline HAM-D score of at least 20; n = 200)	St. John’s wort (900 mg, increased to 1,200 mg if needed) versus placebo daily for four weeks	Proportion achieving response did not differ between groups.
Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group, 200219 multicenter	Adult outpatients with major depression (baseline HAM-D score of at least 20; n = 340)	St. John’s wort (900 to 1,500 mg) versus sertraline (50 to 100 mg) versus placebo daily for eight weeks	Neither sertraline nor St. John’s wort was significantly different from placebo.