Hypericum perforatum
Made from St John's wort — the hedgerow perforate-leaved herb that became a real antidepressant with real drug interactions, and the classical remedy of crushed nerves.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of the injury that strikes a nerve: a smashed fingertip, a blow to the spine or the tailbone, dental work, any wound where the pain shoots along the nerve's path — with the shooting, lancinating pains that follow the injured nerve forever after. The nerve-injury remedy: that is Hypericum.
The substance, in plain words
St John's wort is the yellow-flowered hedgerow herb whose hypericin chemistry made it a genuine, licensed antidepressant in Germany and a global supplement. The same chemistry inhibits liver drug-metabolising enzymes — a real, clinically important interaction — and the proving gave the classical nerve-injury portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety after injuries. Fright, worry, worse in a closed room, after the nerve-shock of the injury.
- Irritability. Cross, worse from noise and jarring of the injured part.
- Melancholy. Low spirits with the shooting pains — the proving's echo of the plant's modern antidepressant fame.
The body
- Injuries to nerve-rich parts. The keynote: crushed fingers, blows to the spine, coccyx and tailbone, injuries of parts rich in nerve-endings.
- Shooting, lancinating pains. Pains that travel the nerve's line after the injury — the books' characteristic signature.
- Puncture wounds of the nerves. Like Ledum, serves pricks and bites — but where the nerve is involved.
- Worse from jarring and motion. Every jolt travels the nerve; motion of the part is agony.
- After operations and dental work. The books use it after tooth extraction and surgery where nerves run — the dentist's companion.
- Better for lying still. Absolute stillness of the part; rubbing
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| jarring and motion; cold damp; touch of the injured nerve; noise. | lying still; quiet; warmth |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Nerves and nerve-endings, spine and coccyx, wounds (nerve-rich parts), dentition.
Where the classical picture comes from
The perforate-leaved herb's proving gave the nerve-territory that distinguishes it from every wound remedy in the library: where Arnica bruises and Ledum punctures, Hypericum serves the nerve itself — with shooting pains that trace the anatomy.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
St John's wort is a real, working antidepressant: licensed in Germany for mild-to-moderate depression, with genuine clinical-trial evidence — and genuine interactions, since it accelerates the metabolism of contraceptives, blood-thinners and many other drugs. Few plants can claim both a licensed medical use and a formal safety warning; this one earns both.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Arnica montana | Trauma | Arnica for the bruise; Hypericum where the nerve is struck — the two divide every accident between them. |
| Ledum palustre | Puncture wounds | Ledum for the cold puncture; Hypericum for the puncture that hits a nerve. |
| Coffea cruda | Nerve sensitivity | Coffea sharpens the senses in sleepless excitement; Hypericum traces the injured nerve with shooting pain. |
| Ruta graveolens | Eye injuries | Ruta is the strained eye and the orbital ache; Hypericum the nerve-shooting of injured parts. |