To treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), some turn away from pharmaceuticals and towards natural alternatives. With that, some have reported you can use St. John’s Wort for OCD symptoms.

But how safe is St. John’s Wort? And is it really as effective as people claim it is?

Throughout this article, we’ll discuss this option, its benefits, possible risks, and other alternatives that may work for OCD.

What is St. John’s Wort?

St. John’s Wort is a plant with yellow flowers used in herbal medicine since the Ancient Greeks. You can take it orally and topically to garner its healing properties. While there isn’t enough research to make any claims, some suggest it can work as an anti-inflammatory and for mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. ¹

Can You Use St. John’s Wort for OCD?

Many use St. John’s Wort for OCD treatment, believing that its internal properties aid with neurological functionality. In fact, recent research has found that St. John’s Wort works similarly to SSRI antidepressants, a common medication prescribed for OCD’s depressive episodes.

While St. John’s Wort is widely known for its benefits for depression, new insight suggests it can aid in OCD. More specifically, studies claim that St. John’s Wort can alleviate the symptoms of various anxiety disorders. ²

These benefits come from St. John’s Wort active properties, specifically hypericum. Hypericum changes the serotonin development in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical that causes the brain to experience happiness, therefore playing an integral role in treating mental health. ³

One research study found that 40% of participants saw improvement from St. John’s Wort. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough research to claim this supplement is an effective alternative. However, many have self-reported feeling relief from OCD symptoms and behaviors.

Since St. John’s Wort is relatively safe, it’s worth giving a try if you haven’t had success with traditional medication.

What Does the Research Say?

Although studies have looked into St. John’s Wort’s effects on OCD, they’re limited:

• A 2000 study revealed that St. John’s Wort showed “significant improvement” in OCD and that the effect was “similar to that found in clinical trials.” Thus showing a correlation between the claims that St. John’s Wort yielded an effective result.

• A reference list of natural supplements and mental health conditions, provided by the American Family Physicians Foundation, included St. John’s Wort. More specifically, its application to the treatment of OCD.

• Still, a 2005 study found there were no developmental changes in using St. John’s Wort for OCD. Admittedly, St. John’s Wort didn’t result in a negative reaction either. The researchers mentioned that more clinical research is recommended, citing that St. John’s Wort deserves more insight into its impact on mental health conditions.

St. John’s Wort Dosage Recommendation

St. John’s Wort is available in different forms, including dry powders, liquid tinctures, and capsules. Each form has its own potencies. Therefore, the recommended dosage varies depending on the brand you go with.

To treat mental health conditions, you need to take St. John’s Wort at a consistent, measured daily dose. According to clinical trials, 300mg taken three times daily in capsule form is the recommended dosage. ⁴

What are the Risks with St. John’s Wort?

Most of St. John’s Wort’s risks come from interactions with other medications. Most notably, taking St. John’s Wort with antidepressants can cause serious side effects. Therefore, you should only take St. John’s Wort under a doctor’s guidance.

Common side effects of St. John’s Wort include: ⁵

• Disorientation (i.e. headaches, dizziness)
• Drug interactions
• Fatigue
• Increased sensitivity for skin and eyes (i.e. to touch or to light)
• Liver toxicity (with prolonged use or increased dosages)
• Shifting moods with irritability and anxiety
• Sleep difficulties (i.e. oversleeping and vivid dreams)
• Stomach irritation

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St. John’s Wort Reviews

When buying St. John’s Wort, there are many options. However, you want to get natural supplements from trusted and sustainable sources. Due to this, we have compiled a list of the best-recommended brands for St. John’s Wort.

Gaia Herbs offers eight products containing St. John’s Wort, most of which are in capsule form:

• A standard St. John’s Wort supplement at 500mg per capsule.

• A liquid tincture of St. John’s Wort at 500mg per mL. This is a great option for those who have difficulty swallowing pills.

• Emotional Balance is Gaia’s form of a multivitamin supplement. It contains St. John’s Wort, passion flower, vervain, gotu kola, and ginkgo.

• A Women’s Balance supplement that provides hormonal balance and hot flash relief. It contains St. John’s Wort, vitex, and black cohosh in a balanced dose of 430mg.

HerbPharm has two products that contain St. John’s Wort:

• St. John’s Wort liquid tincture can be purchased in a one-ounce or four-ounce bottle. The suggested use is to take a full squeeze of the dropper bulb in 2 ounces of water or juice, twice to five times daily.

• An external St. John’s Wort Oil. You can apply it to the skin with cotton gauze or massage it until absorbed. However, it should be noted that this product is less likely to help with OCD symptoms.

Nature’s Bounty has a St. John’s Wort supplement in 300mg capsules that should be taken three times per day. Since this is the standard recommended dosing, this may be an ideal brand option for newcomers to St. John’s Wort.

Nature’s Way offers their St. John’s Wort herb capsules in 700mg. Each capsule also contains ingredients from the stem, leaf, and flower of the St. John’s Wort plant.

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Alternative Holistic Approach to OCD

Besides using St. John’s Wort for OCD, there are other natural remedies to look into:

Curcumin

Curcumin is a bright yellow chemical produced by plants of the Curcuma family. Typically, it’s sold as an herbal supplement, cosmetics ingredient, and food flavoring or coloring. As an herbal supplement, it’s known for its anti-inflammatory properties and positive effects on immune health. ⁶

However, studies have shown curcumin can improve the severity of OCD symptoms and alter brain chemistry. More specifically, it changes the production of monoamine levels which aid in regulating OCD-influenced behaviors. ⁷

Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is a purple-flowering thistle plant. Typically found in Europe, it was introduced to North America by colonists. It has been used traditionally for gastrointestinal and liver ailments and, in some cases, cancer. Milk thistle is also promoted as a dietary supplement for hepatitis, cirrhosis, jaundice, diabetes, indigestion, and other conditions. ⁸

Some studies have compared the effects of milk thistle to Prozac, a common OCD medication. Milk thistle and Prozac have shown comparable benefits – though, more research is necessary. ⁹

Valerian Root

Native to Asia and Europe, valerian is a perennial plant in which the roots are harvested for teas, tinctures, capsules, and tablets. The Ancient Greeks and Romans hailed valerian root for its medicinal properties. In modern research, valerian has shown potential for sleep disorders (i.e. insomnia), anxiety, depression, and OCD. ¹⁰

Valerian may contain anti-obsessive properties to alleviate more severe symptoms of OCD. However, it’s usually taken alongside pharmaceutical OCD medications to enhance the effects of the medication. ¹¹

Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is common in the general population and is known to cause mental health problems. It’s normally garnered through UV rays, but can also come in supplemental form. ¹²

Some studies have found that vitamin D deficiency is common in people with OCD. In fact, the more deficient vitamin D is, the more severe OCD symptoms are. ¹³

References

¹ Peterson B, Nguyen H. St. John’s Wort. 2023 May 16. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 32491397.

² Shelton RC, Keller MB, Gelenberg A, Dunner DL, Hirschfeld R, Thase ME, Russell J, Lydiard RB, Crits-Cristoph P, Gallop R, Todd L, Hellerstein D, Goodnick P, Keitner G, Stahl SM, Halbreich U. Effectiveness of St John’s wort in major depression: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2001 Apr 18;285(15):1978-86. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.15.1978. PMID: 11308434.

³ Klemow KM, Bartlow A, Crawford J, et al. Medical Attributes of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Chapter 11. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92750/

⁴ Ng QX, Venkatanarayanan N, Ho CY. Clinical use of Hypericum perforatum (St John’s wort) in depression: A meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2017 Mar 1;210:211-221. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.12.048. Epub 2017 Jan 3. PMID: 28064110.

⁵ Parker V, Wong AH, Boon HS, Seeman MV. Adverse reactions to St John’s Wort. Can J Psychiatry. 2001 Feb;46(1):77-9. doi: 10.1177/070674370104600112. PMID: 11221494.

⁶ Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017 Oct 22;6(10):92. doi: 10.3390/foods6100092. PMID: 29065496; PMCID: PMC5664031.

⁷ Chimakurthy J, Murthy TE. Effect of curcumin on quinpirole induced compulsive checking: An approach to determine the predictive and construct validity of the model. N Am J Med Sci. 2010 Feb;2(2):81-6. doi: 10.4297/najms.2010.281. PMID: 22624119; PMCID: PMC3354439.

⁸ Achufusi TGO, Pellegrini MV, Patel RK. Milk Thistle. 2024 Feb 28. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 31082119.

⁹ Kuygun Karcı C, Gül Celik G. Nutritional and herbal supplements in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder. Gen Psychiatr. 2020 Mar 11;33(2):e100159. doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2019-100159. PMID: 32215361; PMCID: PMC7066598.

¹⁰ Shinjyo N, Waddell G, Green J. Valerian Root in Treating Sleep Problems and Associated Disorders-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2020 Jan-Dec;25:2515690X20967323. doi: 10.1177/2515690X20967323. PMID: 33086877; PMCID: PMC7585905.

¹¹ Pakseresht S, Boostani H, Sayyah M. Extract of valerian root (Valeriana officinalis L.) vs. placebo in treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized double-blind study. J Complement Integr Med. 2011 Oct 11;8:/j/jcim.2011.8.issue-1/1553-3840.1465/1553-3840.1465.xml. doi: 10.2202/1553-3840.1465. PMID: 22718671.

¹² Cheng YC, Huang YC, Huang WL. The effect of vitamin D supplement on negative emotions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Depress Anxiety. 2020 Jun;37(6):549-564. doi: 10.1002/da.23025. Epub 2020 May 4. PMID: 32365423.

¹³ Çelik G, Taş D, Tahiroğlu A, Avci A, Yüksel B, Çam P. Vitamin D Deficiency in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections: A Case Control Study. Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2016 Mar;53(1):33-37. doi: 10.5152/npa.2015.8763. Epub 2016 Mar 1. PMID: 28360763; PMCID: PMC5353234.