St. John’s wort is no better than a placebo in treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a new study appearing in the June 11 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals.

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), once thought to rid the body of evil spirits, has a history of medicinal use dating back to ancient Greece, where it was used to treat a range of illnesses, including various “nervous conditions.” St. John’s wort has antibacterial and antiviral properties and, because of its anti-inflammatory properties, has been used to help heal wounds and burns.

St. John’s wort is one of the most commonly purchased herbal products in the United States. Because St. John’s wort interacts with a wide variety of medications, it is important to take it only under the guidance of a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable about herbal medicines.

Previous studies have shown that St. John’s wort proved to be efficient in treating a series of conditions such as depression, alcoholism, bacterial infections, HIV infection and AIDS, premenstrual syndrome, seasonal affective disorder, viral encephalitis, wounds, minor burns, hemorrhoids, ear pain from an ear infection, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which funded the new study. The organization is part of the national Institutes of Health.

However efficient St. John’s wort was in treating all the diseases above, it wasn’t as efficient in treating ADHD, the new study showed.

For the analysis, lead author Wendy Weber of Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington and colleagues chose 27 children with ADHD who were given St. John’s wort, while 27 other children with ADHD were given a placebo. Their age ranged from 6 to 17 years old.

The study surprisingly found that after eight weeks of treatment, the two groups showed no difference in symptoms or side effects, which might be also translated in seeing “no benefit at all” in giving St. John’s wort to children with ADHD.

The study findings raise doubts about the effectiveness of alternative therapies to treat children with ADHD. The study also revealed that up to 30 percent of children with ADHD in the U.S. do not respond to pharmaceutical medications, or suffer side effects like nausea, insomnia or weight loss. That’s why parents seek complementary or alternative medicine for their children like massage, dietary changes, supplements and herbal treatments like St. John’s wort, Echinacea species, and Ginkgo biloba. Unfortunately, this study breaks some parents’ hopes to see some improvement if their children are treated with St. John’s wort.

However, because this study involved a small number of children with ADHD, more research is needed to confirm the findings, since effects of other dosages are still unknown.

ADHD is one of the most well-recognized childhood developmental problems. The condition is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. According to government estimates, ADHD affects more than 4.4 million children. The bad news is that ADHD symptoms continue in adulthood for about 60 percent in children with ADHD, thus having repercussions on adults’ daily activity.

According to a study released by researchers at the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, lack of concentration in adults with ADHD costs each of them 22.1 days of “role performance” per year including 8.7 extra days of absence.