title: Pharmacological studies in an herbal drug combination of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and passion flower (Passiflora incarnata): in vitro and in vivo evidence of synergy between Hypericum and Passiflora in antidepressant pharmacological models.
abstract: Extracts of Hypericum, Passiflora and Valeriana are used for the treatment of mild depression and anxiety. We were interested whether a combination of Hypericum and Passiflora exerts comparable effects to Hypericum alone. We used two well-established models for investigating extracts for their anti-depressant activity, namely the effects on synaptic uptake of serotonin and the forced-swimming-test. We show here for the first time, that Passiflora significantly enhances the pharmacological potency of Hypericum in both models. Our data suggest that anti-depressive therapeutic effects of Hypericum are possible with lower doses, when it is combined with Passiflora, than with mono-preparations of Hypericum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg Medical School, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Fiebich
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Knörle
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Appel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kammler
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D020902:Hypericum; D029598:Passiflora; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013550:Swimming; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012701:Serotonin