Present-day herb research had achieved significant findings and even breakthroughs though deemed incomparable to the amount and vast knowledge relayed to us by our forefathers and ancient civilizations of the Orient even without the aid of most advanced technological tools that laboratories of today boast of.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a recognized branch of the present-day alternative medicines by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The NCCAM had been established by the National Institutes of Health in 1999 in order to pursue the advancement of the ‘scientific study of CAM to help answer questions about safety and the effect on health promotion, disease prevention, and/or management of medical disorders. Alternative medicine is differentiated from complementary medicine, to which the latter is known as a set of medications that are be to be ‘taken together with conventional medicine’ or prescription medications.

Alternative medicine is defined as a set of practice that is built in the foundation of ‘complete systems of theory and practice’. One of the known and popular approaches of alternative medicine is the TCM. The TCM is the name of the complex and established ancient practice of healthcare in China. At present, the Chinese system of pharmacopoeia utilizes over 600 varieties of herbs that are infused and joined with known 6,000 substances that would form herb-based drugs that are produced and trusted by Chinese and herbalists.

One of the known products of modern-day laboratory tests is of a breakthrough research on St. John’s wort. The research had provided that St. John’s wort can significantly fight off depression, specifically among women. A review of the Cochrane, a well-known trusted medical studies journal, had provided that St. John’s wort had been long known in folk medicine to actually provide remedy and treat cases of depression. The effect of this star-shaped yellow flower is said to have a comparable effect to Prozac®, the most preferred anti-depression drug that increases the level of a chemical known as serotonin in the brain. Previous research on St. John’s wort had shown its capability in treating mild cases of depression. The researchers of the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany had provided that ‘St. John’s wort extracts were superior to placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants, with fewer side effects’. According to this research, women are more likely to experience depression in their lifetime than men. Though the cause of this is still considered as a medical mystery, women are advised by most herbalists and herbal experts to consult with professional and practitioners as most St. John’s wort-based products and drugs that are provided for in the market contain less concentration than the tested 500 and 1200 mg. Pregnant women and even those that are undertaking certain medications are otherwise advised to ingest a dose of St. John’s wort as it may interfere with the development of the child and even of the prescriptions.

St. John’s wort is widely known as ‘Nature’s Prozac’. It is also used to treat cases of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), anxiety, and sleep problems. Herb research provide that the effects of St. John’s wort is not felt immediately and may take at least two to four week for its benefits to be felt.