Johanniskraut, geschnitten, bio-50g

Name: St. John's Wort (German: Johanniskraut)
Latin Name: Hypericum perforatum
Product Form: Herb, cut
Ingredients: 100% St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), cut, from certified organic cultivation

St. John's wort is the best-known midsummer plant of European herbal lore. Its name derives from St. John's Day on June 24th; around the summer solstice, the plant opens its brilliant yellow flowers.

Use

As a tea: Pour 250 ml of boiling water over 2 heaped teaspoons of St. John's wort and steep, covered, for 20 minutes. See the "Preparation" section for details.

Traditional solstice herb: St. John's wort is among the herbs long valued in European herbal lore since antiquity, where it is traditionally mentioned in connection with light and warmth. For more on use, see the "Application" tab.

About the Plant

Hypericum perforatum belongs to the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae). Its delicate, bright yellow flowers, with their characteristically dotted leaves (perforatum, meaning "perforated," referring to the translucent oil glands in the leaf), bloom preferentially around the summer solstice.

Other names: In German, St. John's wort is also known as Teufelsflucht, Herrgottsblut, or Hexenkraut.

Historical roots: St. John's wort is already mentioned in antiquity by Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder, and Galen. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the valued plants of physician Paracelsus. St. John's wort was also regarded as a protective plant: farmers hung it in stables to protect livestock, and in homes it was hung on window crosses, a custom that gave the plant its German folk name "Teufelsflucht" (devil's flight).

Key Components:

• Hyperforin and hypericin: the namesake compounds, extensively studied in research
• Flavonoids: polyphenolic plant compounds typical of many herbs
• Essential oil: responsible for the characteristic aroma
• Tannins: secondary plant compounds with astringent properties

Herbathek Stands for Highest Quality

All products available at Herbathek are exclusively selected and of the highest quality. Our St. John's wort is also pure and of the finest organic quality: free from preservatives, flavourings and other artificial additives, 100% natural!

Important Safety Note: St. John's wort can affect the efficacy of certain medications, including hormonal contraceptives (the birth control pill), which may lead to breakthrough bleeding and reduced contraceptive reliability. St. John's wort may also alter the effectiveness of other medications, for instance by affecting the transport protein P-glycoprotein, which can lower the bioavailability of certain drugs (e.g. digoxin). If taking medications with serotonergic effects (e.g. certain migraine medications or antidepressants), St. John's wort should not be used without consulting a doctor. St. John's wort may also increase skin sensitivity to light.

Note: Not a medicinal product. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a doctor or pharmacist before use, particularly if you take other medications, use hormonal contraception, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

History:

St. John's wort is the best known typical midsummer plant of the medicinal herbs. Even its name is derived from St. John's Day, on 24 June. In the days around the summer solstice, St. John's wort opens its bright yellow flowers. Like hardly any other plant, this medicinal plant is associated with the sun, whose power it absorbs on the longest days of the year in order to give it to us humans during the darker days of winter. St. John's wort brings warming rays of sunshine to depressed minds. It was already praised in antiquity by Dioscorides, Pliny Secundus and Galen. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the prized plants of Paracelsus, who recommended it primarily for its wound-healing and blood-cleansing abilities. The connection between St. John's wort and light also played an important role even then.

Already in the Middle Ages, St. John's wort was used against melancholy, but this was forgotten until orthodox medicine proved its antidepressant effect in scientific studies in the 1970s. Since then, St. John's wort has been the most important herbal antidepressant.

The light-sensitising effect of St. John's wort was first observed in grazing animals that had eaten large amounts of St. John's wort and subsequently developed white patches on their fur, the so-called light sickness. St. John's wort was also considered a protection against demons. Farmers hung it in their stables to protect their cattle from demons. In people's homes it was hung on the window cross to ward off evil spirits. Its name "devil's curse" derives from this use, because even the devil is said to flee from St. John's wort. A wreath of St. John's wort thrown on the roof used to protect the house from lightning. To drive away a thunderstorm, some St. John's wort was sprinkled on the cooker or burnt in the oven. At the midsummer dances around the St. John's fire, the girls wore wreaths of St. John's wort.

Classical herbal medicine and modern anthroposophical medicine, however, regard St. John's wort as a medicinal plant that can store the sunlight of midsummer and then release the joy of the sunny summer in the gloomy winter to brighten and warm the spirits. Seen in this light, one can certainly drink a St. John's wort tea instead of commercial preparations.