By Jimmy Downs

Tuesday Nov 13, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking St. John's wort supplements may help prevent migraine headaches and reduce the intensity of migraine headaches, according to a new study in Journal of Medicinal Plants Research.

Mahmoud Gh.  Mirzaei of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Medical Plants Research Center in Shahrekord, Iran and colleagues conducted the clinical trial and found patients who used both St. John wort and sodium valproate significantly reduced the intensity of migraine attacks and resulted in more significant decline in the frequency, compared to those using sodium valproate alone. 

St John’s wort  or known as Hypericum perfortum is a medicinal plant which has also ready been used for depression is known to increase in the brain serotonin that may also have an effect on migraine headache, according to the authors. 

The study, which was intended to examine the effect of St. John wort on the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches in 100 patients aged 15 to 45 years who were divided into two study groups subject to different treatments in four phases of 45 days.

In the pretreatment phase, subjects did not use any drug.  In the first phase, both patient groups received sodium valproate in a dose of 200 mg/tablet/time twice per day.  In the second phase, subjects in study group 1 continued to use sodium valproate while patients in study group 2 received tablets of St. John's wort twice a day in addition to sodium valproate. In the third phase, subjects were subject to the same treatment in the first phase. 

Sodium valproate or valproate sodium is an anticonvulsant used to treat migraine, epilepsy, anorexia nervosa, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic attack, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder and other psychiatric conditions that need a mood stabilizer.

During the study, patients were allowed to take indometacin in 25 mg capsules as a rescue medication for migraine.

The researchers found using St. John's wort together with sodium valproate in the second trial phase significantly reduced the intensity of migraine headaches leading to a more drastic decline in the number of episodes.