The Acute Effect of Hypericum Perforatum on Short-Term Memory in Healthy Adults

Overview

Rationale Over-the-counter drugs containing hypericum perforatum (H. perforatum), have been argued to improve memory and sustained attention. So far, these claims have not been supported in human studies. However, previous studies used rather high dosages, and little is known about the acute effect of small dosages. Objective We evaluated whether an acute treatment with Remotiv 500 and Remotiv 250 (500 or 250 mg of H. perforatum quantified to either 1 or 0.5 mg of hypericin) improved memory, sustained attention, as well as mood and state anxiety in healthy adults. Method A single dosage, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted with 82 student participants (33 women). Each participant received placebo in one session and one of two dosages in the other session. Order of the sessions and dosage conditions were randomized between subjects. Participants completed a battery of tasks assessing short-term memory capacity and sustained attention.

Conditions