In recent years, depression increased year by year, due to its unique pharmacological effects, st. john’s. wort extract became one of the best-selling herbs in the world. In the past it was generally considered the main antidepressant active substances of st. john’s wort extract were hypericin and hyperin, the latest pharmacological studies have shown that the main anti-depressant active substance is hyperforin.

1 Main chemical composition of st. john’s wort extract
St. john’s wort extract has been used for the treatment of depression in Europe and the United States for hundreds of years, the main active composition includes: flavonoids, naphtodianthrones, pholomoglucinols and so on.
1.1 Flavonoids
The present study shows that flavonoids in st. john’s wort extract include rutin, hyeroside, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin and so on.
1.2 Naphtodianthrones
The present study shows that naphtodianthrones in st. john’s wort extract is mainly pseudohypericin, hypericin and so on.
1.3 Pholomglucinols
The recent study shows that pholomglucinols in st. john’s wort extract is mainly hyperforin, adhypeforin, which are the main anti-depression active ingredient.
1.4 Other compounds
Other components in st. john’s wort extract are monoterpenes (mainly alpha and beta pinene), sesquiterpenes, hydrocarbons, tannins, procyanidins, choline, carotenoids, sitosterol, valerian acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, nicotinic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, amino acids and so on.

2 The antidepressant research progress of st. john’s wort extract
Clinical trial results show that the antidepressant efficacy of St. John’s wort extract is superior to placebo in patients with mild and moderate depression (st. john’s wort extract 225 effective in 408 cases, placebo 94 effective in 408 cases), similar to the antidepressant efficacy of tricyclic antidepressants and Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), but the side effects of st. john’s wort extract are lower and the cost of treatment is lower, which is obviously better than the commonly used antidepressants.

The anti-depression effect of St. John’s wort extract is achieved by inhibiting monoamine reabsorption in the synaptic cleft. Hyperforin is the main active ingredient in St. John’s wort extract, which is a monoamine reuptake inhibitor.

The antidepressant effect of St. John’s wort extract is closely related to the concentration of Hyperforin, which further proves that hyperforin is the main anti-depressant active substance. The experimental results indicate that hyperforin has a significant inhibitory effect on the reabsorption of neurotransmitters 5-HTP, norepinephrine and dopamine by synaptosomes. Hyperforin-induced electroencephalogram changes in humans and mice are the same as those induced by Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRISs).

Hyperforin supplementing can obviously improve the concentration of extracellular neurotransmitters 5-HTP, norepinephrine and dopamine. Unlike commonly used antidepressants, hyperforin also inhibits synaptosomes from reabsorption of GABA and L-glu. In a tail suspension control study, scientists found similar anti-depressant efficacy between imipramine and hyperforin, the relationship between dose and effect was u-shaped curve. The inhibition of neurotransmitter reabsorption from hyperforin is non-competitive, which is different from the commonly used antidepressants.

3 the antidepressant mechanism of hyperforin
Studies suggest that hyperforin on neurotransmitter reabsorption inhibition may be related to increased intracellular sodium ion concentration in synaptosomes. The role of hyperforin is similar to sodium ion channel inhibitors, which can increase intracellular sodium ion concentration, thereby inhibiting neurotransmitter reabsorption, but hyperforin can only increase intracellular sodium ion concentration to extracellular sodium level, but higher dose will reduce the intracellular sodium ion, hyperforin dose. Hyperforin may not be a simple sodium channel inhibitor.

4 Conclusion
St. John’s wort extract has a good market and development prospects because of its unique antidepressant effect. Recent studies show that the main active ingredient of anti-depression in because of its unique antidepressant effect is hyperforin, which is neurotransmitter 5-HTP, dopamine, norepinephrine noncompetitive reuptake inhibitors, hyperforin can also inhibit the reabsorption of GABA and L- glutamine by synaptosomes.