Background:
According to new studies, only 60% of depressed patients respond to pharmaceutical
treatment while suffering from their side effects. Natural products as adjuvant or alternative
therapies should be examined to find safer and more effective ways to cope with depression.
Objective:
To find out the potential benefits of a combined herbal drug based on Echium amoenum
compared with citalopram in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder.
Design and Setting: In psychiatry clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 50 patients who
met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder based on DSM-5 were studied in a parallel randomized
controlled trial.
Design and Setting:
In psychiatry clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 50 patients who
met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder based on DSM-5 were studied in a parallel randomized
controlled trial.
Intervention:
Subjects were randomly assigned to receive Echium amoenum compound syrup (EACS)
or citalopram tablet for 8 weeks.
Outcome Measures:
The efficacy of treatments and recurrence of disease were surveyed and compared
according to Hamilton depression rating scale at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12.
Results:
Patients in both groups of citalopram and EACS showed remarkable reduction in scores of
Hamilton questionnaire. At the eighth week of treatment, the mean scores in EACS group were significantly
lower than citalopram group (p-value = 0.03). 52% of patients suffered from various complications
in citalopram group while just 12% of patients in EACS group reported few complications.
Conclusion:
Clinical efficacy of this herbal drug was significantly higher than citalopram, and complications
were also less and lower in EACS group. Further studies with larger groups and para-clinical assessments
such as serologic tests and QEEG would improve our understanding of the impacts and mechanisms
of EACS.
Two Pronged Approach for Prevention and Therapy of Covid-19 (Sars-CoV-2) by a Multi-targeted herbal Drug, a component of Ayurvedic decoction
