Important question about natural remedies such as valerian or passion flower

[924guy]

Hi, I have been doing alot of research lately on natural aids to help anxiety and depression. I would like to hear from people who take any of these and I NEED TO KNOW IF THEY WORK. These include St Johns Wort, Valerian extract, and passion flower extract. My depression and anxiety can flare up at times to be very bad but i can usually control it and it seems to be almost seasonal. Please help me before I waste any money on things. I don't want to take RX meds unless these do not help . I might mention I have just started taking omega 3 fish oil, a multivitamin, and st john's wort 900mg per day to help. But I'm debating on getting valerian or passion flower to calm me down or ease anxiety. So please try to help me figure this out and thanks!
                                                                                               Austin

[jennBunny5]

HI, well as far as I know the passion flower is suppost to help ease tension in your shoulders and back and help calm stress. I have the tea, and it has worked when I have taken it, but lately I have been forgetting to do it, along with taking my multivitamins and omega pills. It's just really hard for me to be consistent, but you should try it, you never know, what might not work for others, might work for you. If you get the passion flower tea you can find it at a grocery store next to herbs and spices and i think it's like $1.49 for 25 bags. And you can make 2 cups out of one bag, one for morning, and one before bed. So i hope everything works out for you, I know how you feel about wasting money on things, i get my hopes up see no results, and then kick myself down for buying it in the first place. But it shouldn't be that way, we have to know that we tried something, and don't get left wondering "what if." I hope you find yourself feeling better. Have a nice day.

[studdmuffin]

they work, but how well depends on the severity of your problem. kava is the best natural product with valerian coming in second. vitamins are great for your overall health, but don't expect them to do anything for anxiety. 

[924guy]

well thanks for the info and I think I might try out the passion flower tea because it seems to be pretty cheap as well. I can try to look it up somewhere.

[AnxiouSteve]

they work, but how well depends on the severity of your problem. kava is the best natural product with valerian coming in second.

Kava is definitely the best, but there is little evidence for valerian.  Maybe it's not valerian's fault, as there have been few studies. I know of two.  One showed no effect, and another was not placebo controlled, and both groups showed similar improvement.

The only study showing St. John's Wort to be effective for anxiety was one done with concurrent valarian treatment, however.  Unfortunately, that was for somataform disorders, which is a specific type of health anxiety.

Passionflower was shown to work as well as a weak benzo in the longterm, but there was no placebo control in that study either.

In health volunteers (people without anxiety disorder or any other disorder) an herb called Skullcap was found to be calming.  Ditto for animal models.

A supplement called Inositol (vitamin b-8, unofficially and somewhat incorrectly) shows good evidence for working on OCD / Obsessive thoughts, and obsessive behaviors.  It will possibly work synergistically with a supplement called 5-htp.

Speaking of which, Saint John's Wort, Sam-E, 5-htp, and Tryptophan all have some evidence (strongest to weakest respectively, I think) for use in people with depression.

As always, do your homework and consult a physician and all that.

I take all that stuff, btw, but that's not necessarily a recommendation.

Here's a good article about all that:  http://www.aafp.org/afp/20070815/549.html