St. John's Wort

ST. JOHN'S WORT - Hypericum perforatum - (VALSAMO) - Hypericaceae FamilyCommon names: Common St. John’s Wort Perforate St. John’s Wort, goatweed, Tipton’s weed, rosin rose, chase-devil HISTORY OF USESt. John’s Wort has been used in herbal healing for more than 2,000 years, most notably as a treatment for wounds. In the 1st century A.D., the Roman naturalist Pliny prescribed St. John’s wort steeped in wine as a cure for the bites of poisonous snakes.  The Greek physician Dioscorides recommended it externally for burns and internally as a diuretic, menstruation promoter, and treatment for sciatica and recurring fevers (malaria). In 1618, the first London Pharmacopoeia advised chopping St. John’s wort flowers, immersing them in oil, and placing the mixture in the sun for three weeks. The resulting tincture was a standard treatment for wounds and bruises for several hundred years. St. John’s Wort is a native European plant, where it has been used in medicine through the centuries, being on