Akram Sadeghi - Department of Psychiatry, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Fatemeh Ghorayshi - Department of Psychiatry, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Hojjat Baghshahi - Barij Medicinal Plants Research Center, Kashan, Iran
Hossein Akbari - Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Mohammad Reza Memarzadeh - Barij Medicinal Plants Research Center, Kashan, Iran
Mohsen Taghizadeh - Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Disease, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Alireza Safaei - Barij Medicinal Plants Research Center, Kashan, Iran

Objective: Echium amoenum and Hypericum perforatum dried flowers have been used for therapy of mental disorders in Iranian traditional medicine. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of the E. amoenum and H. perforatum extracts in patients with mild to moderate depression.Materials and Methods: In an ۸-week double-blind, parallel-group trial, ۵۱ patients randomly consumed ۲۰ mg of fluoxetine or ۳۵۰ mg of herbal medicine twice daily. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) was used to assess depression severity in patients at weeks ۰, ۴, and ۸.Results: According to the Hamilton score, there were no significant differences between the fluoxetine- and herbal medicine-treated groups after ۴ and ۸ weeks (p>۰.۰۵). Dry mouth was the only reported side effect which was significantly lower in the herbal group (p<۰.۰۵) in weeks ۲ and ۴.Conclusion: E. amoenum and H. perforatum have anti-depressant properties similar to fluoxetine and they can be used to treat depression as an alternative to fluoxetine.

Anti-Anxiety Drug, Fluoxetine, Depression, Herbal Drug, Traditional Medicine