Some herbal supplements can help treat anxiety disorders, according to an analysis published yesterday.
Extracts of kava and of passionflower have repeatedly been shown to be effective, researchers said – as have combinations of L-lysine and L-arginine.
St John’s wort was found to be ineffective – as were supplements of magnesium.
The analysis of some 24 studies involving a total of 2,000 patients has been published in the Nutrition Journal.
21 of the studies were randomised controlled – meaning they met the normal standard for medical research.
The analysis was performed at the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Researcher Shaheen Lakhan said: "For all three of the herbal supplements we reviewed, more research needs to be done to establish the most effective dosage and to determine whether this varies between different types of anxiety or anxiety-related disorders.
"Herbal medicines hold an important place in the history of medicine as most of our current remedies, and the majority of those likely to be discovered in the future, will contain phytochemicals derived from plants."
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