Does St. Johns Wort lessen the effects of the contraceptive pill?
There has been some speculation that St John’s Wort could increase the metabolism of the contraceptive pill or other contraceptive methods and contribute to mid cycle ‘spotting’. However, this has never been substantiated in clinical trials or any other study and was based on a report of these symptoms by a handful of women in Europe in the mid 90’s. As St John’s Wort sales in some European countries outstrip even Prozac, this anecdotal report from a few women does not constitute a significant sample. Nevertheless, this rumor still surfaces from time to time and even appears on the warning lists of many medical websites, which perpetuates the conception by many doctors that this is the case. Some people speculate that it is fanned by the major pharmaceutical companies whose sales are affected by St John’s Wort and other herbals. Despite more than 10 years track record of effective use over many thousands of women, we have not had one single complaint of mid cycle spotting linked to any
