What do zinc, bitter orange, lavender, saffron, and vitamin D all have in common? No, they\u2019re not the ingredients to a bizarre-sounding salad, but they are\u00a0all products that have been touted as natural antidepressants. The real question is \u2013 do any of them actually work?<\/p>\n
What are natural antidepressants?<\/p>\n
Natural antidepressants are pretty much what it says on the tin<\/a> \u2013 dietary supplements and herbal products that some claim to be natural alternatives to standard treatments like synthetically produced antidepressants<\/a>.<\/p>\n You might have heard of some of them; one of the most well-known is St John\u2019s wort<\/a>, a flowering shrub that\u2019s been packaged up into a variety of tablets and tinctures. There\u2019s also omega-3s and vitamin D, supplements that are typically taken for purposes other than treating depression.<\/p>\n But those three products are far from on their own. There are a whole bunch of different herbs and supplements out there that have been promoted to have antidepressant effects, ranging from the floral, like lavender, Rhodiola, and chamomile, to the metallic magnesium and zinc.<\/p>\n Do natural antidepressants actually work?<\/p>\n Before we dive into whether or not natural antidepressants work, it\u2019s first worth pointing out that dietary supplements and herbal medicine products are treated different by regulators \u2013 they aren\u2019t FDA approved<\/a> to treat or prevent any disease<\/a> or condition, including depression.<\/p>\n That means they haven\u2019t been through the same rigorous level of testing and evaluation that is required of standard antidepressants, which means it\u2019s difficult to know whether the product you\u2019re picking from the shelf is safe, let alone effective.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that no research has been done into the efficacy of natural antidepressants \u2013 quite the opposite, in fact. In a recent scoping review<\/a> \u2013 a type of scientific study that gives an overview<\/a> of what evidence is out there and identifies knowledge gaps, but doesn\u2019t form a conclusion intended to guide clinical decision-making \u2013 researchers identified 209 trials that evaluated the use of dietary supplements and herbal medicines for depression.<\/p>\n Some of the most frequently investigated products were St John\u2019s wort, omega-3s<\/a>, probiotics<\/a>, vitamin D, and saffron. Still, the sheer number of trials doesn\u2019t tell you whether or not something is effective \u2013 but if lots of studies find the same thing, then there\u2019s a bit more of a case to be made. So, what did the team find out on the efficacy front?<\/p>\n \u201cCompared to placebo, fewer omega-3 trials found effects for depression than those that found no effects,\u201d wrote the study\u2019s first author, Rachael Frost, in an editorial<\/a> discussing the findings. \u201cHowever, St John\u2019s Wort and saffron more often showed effects compared to placebo, and similar results to prescription antidepressants. Probiotics and vitamin D were more likely to reduce depressive symptoms than placebo.\u201d<\/p>\n But that\u2019s far from conclusive; Frost and colleagues also point out in their study that there was \u201cconsiderable variation in the specific products, extracts, and dosages tested\u201d when it came to these particular products. That lack of standardization makes it difficult to convincingly pinpoint what exactly it is that seems to be effective. You can\u2019t justifiably recommend a particular dose of a product, for example, without lots of other studies providing evidence that that exact same dose is effective.<\/p>\n On that point, Frost and the team also identified multiple supplements and herbal medicines that had only had one trial investigating them \u2013 so although singular trials found positive effects for products like rosemary, basil, and lotus seeds compared to a placebo<\/a>, without further research, those effects aren\u2019t particularly compelling. The same goes for cases where products were found to be less effective, or showed no statistically significant effect compared to placebo or standard antidepressants, too.<\/p>\n All of this is to say that, for many products claimed to be natural antidepressants, there\u2019s still plenty of research that needs to be done before those claims can be properly held up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are natural antidepressants safe to use?<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just efficacy that needs to be considered when it comes to natural antidepressants \u2013 safety is also paramount.<\/p>\n The above analysis found few safety concerns with the dietary supplements and herbal medicines tested, even when they were taken alongside regular antidepressants (the safety concern here is that the two products could interact in a dangerous way). However, not all studies included carried out safety reporting to a high standard, so it\u2019s hard to know for certain how truly safe they are.<\/p>\n Drug interactions, for example, are still a possibility. For instance, St John\u2019s wort can interfere with the action of multiple drugs<\/a>, including blood thinners, contraceptives, and some immune suppressants. In cases where it\u2019s taken alongside standard antidepressants, there\u2019s still a risk of it causing too high a level of serotonin<\/a> in the body, which can lead to a potentially life threatening condition called serotonin syndrome.\u00a0<\/p>\n It’s also worth reiterating the lack of regulation when it comes to natural antidepressants. Without sufficient oversight, it can\u2019t be guaranteed that the product contains what it says it does. Even if that turns out not to be the case, there\u2019s still no certainty that you\u2019re getting the exact dose, for example, that was evaluated in studies.<\/p>\n