I heard that St. Johns Wort could decrease the effects of some prescription drugs?
A. Quite true, though the effect may not be very significant with low doses of St. John’s Wort. The effect was first reported for indinavir, an anti-AIDS drug, but it has been shown (Markowitz et al., 2003) that 900 mg of St. John’s Wort extract per day just about doubled the metabolism of other drugs which are substrates for the CYP 3A4 enzyme system (a system in the body that deals with “foreign” substances), which meant that this daily dose of St. John’s Wort had induced the enzyme (increased its activity by causing more to be formed). There have also been reports that use of St. John’s Wort at this dose level may reduce the efficacy of oral contraceptives. The dose of St. John’s Wort that was used in these studies is many times higher than that used in our Somatherm™, but depending on the prescription drug being used, even small reductions in efficacy could be important, so the physician prescribing the drug should be consulted. Back To Top Q.
