Owais Ismail, Qamaruddin Barakzai.
Phytotherapy and its role in the treatment of Depression.
Pak J Pharmacol Jan ;24(1):67-74.

For centuries, man has used traditional remedies for the treatment of various ailments. Despite all the marvelous advancements in the field of medical science, traditional medicine has always been in practice. More than 50% of the developing world`s population still depends on complementary and alternative systems of medicine (CAM), not only due to their efficacy but also because many of the modern drugs are beyond the financial reach of general population. Evidence-based CAM therapies have shown remarkable success in healing acute as well as chronic diseases. These therapies are first choice for problems such as infertility, epilepsy, psychosomatic disorders, depression and many other ailments. Phytotherapy is one of the therapeutic modalities in CAM that is gradually becoming very popular. Herbal remedies and extracts are traditionally being used and available worldwide for the treatment of many diseases including depression. Many of these plants have been scientifically validated by experiments that justify their traditional use. The standardized extract of Hypericum perforatum (St. John`s wort) is the most promising herbal remedy, used as a therapeutic agent for depression in many countries and it seems to offer significant advantages over conventional antidepressants. Herbal practitioners have claimed for centuries that extracts from plants are effectively used for the alleviation of different types of diseases. Here we have reviewed the scientific status of some popular herbs that are being used in different parts of the world for the treatment of depression.

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