Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19859815›Full record

ReviewThe AAPS journal2009

Herb-drug interactions with St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum): an update on clinical observations.

Francesca Borrelli, Angelo A Izzo

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The AAPS journal, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
86citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
21.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

86 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 274 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  10. Toxicology reports · 2026
    Article
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  13. Practical compendium of antiarrhythmic drugs: a clinical consensus statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Review
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  16. Diverse Therapeutic Potentials of Hypericin: An In-Depth Review.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2025
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
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  20. Article

26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Francesca BorrelliDepartment of Experimental Pharmacology, University of Naples Federico II, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131, Naples, Italy. franborr@unina.it
Angelo A Izzo
University of Naples Federico II · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

St John's wort (SJW) extracts, prepared from the aerial parts of Hypericum perforatum, contain numerous pharmacologically active ingredients, including naphthodianthrones (e.g., hypericin and its derivatives), phloroglucinols derivatives (e.g., hyperforin, which inhibits the reuptake of a number of neurotransmitters, including serotonin), and flavonoids. Such extracts are widely used for the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression. As a monotherapy, SJW has an encouraging safety profile. However, relevant and, in some case, life-threatening interactions have been reported, particularly with drugs which are substrate of cytochrome P450 and/or P-glycoprotein. Well-documented SJW interactions include (1) reduced blood cyclosporin concentration, as suggested by multiple case reports as well as by clinical trials, (2) serotonin syndrome or lethargy when SJW was given with serotonin reuptake inhibitors, (3) unwanted pregnancies in women while using oral contraceptives and SJW, and (4) reduced plasma drug concentration of antiretroviral (e.g., indinavir, nevirapine) and anticancer (i.e., irinotecan, imatinib) drugs. Hyperforin, which is believed to contribute to the antidepressant action of St John's wort, is also strongly suspected to be responsible of most of the described interactions.

Indexed as

AnimalsATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme SystemDrug InteractionsHumansHypericumATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System

Identifiers

PMID19859815
PMCPMC2782080
OpenAlexW2142244531

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.