Dietary supplements and St. John’s wort tea can have adverse health effects. This has emerged from an investigation by the RIVM. The RIVM therefore advises consumers to be careful when using these types of herbal preparations containing St. John’s wort and not to use them in combination with medicines. It is not known how many people use herbal remedies containing St. John’s wort.
Some medicines are less effective because of St. John’s wort. Herbal preparations containing St. John’s wort, for example, reduce the effect of chemotherapy or agents against fungal or viral infections. The effect of antidepressants or tranquilizers, for example, can be enhanced. The RIVM therefore advises consumers not to combine herbal preparations containing St. John’s wort with medicines.
St John’s wort can also be harmful to health outside of a combination with medicines. For example, the skin can burn if people sit in the sun after using St. John’s wort. Other complaints such as dizziness, diarrhea and anxiety can also occur after using herbal preparations containing St. John’s wort.
The effects of long-term use of St. John’s wort are not known. There is also insufficient information to determine whether the use of St. John’s wort during pregnancy is safe for the unborn child. The composition of herbal preparations containing St. John’s wort is often unknown. This also makes it difficult to assess the effects of a product.
More information can be found in the report ‘Risk assessment of herbal preparations containing St John’s wort‘on the RIVM website.
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