Several key findings from the review:
-
Mood Disorders:
- Adjunctive (co-use with antidepressants) omega-3 fatty acids and monotherapy St John’s wort are recommended.
- Adjunctive probiotics, zinc, methylfolate, and adjunctive or monotherapy saffron and curcumin are provisionally recommended.
- Adjunctive or monotherapy vitamin D and lavender, monotherapy probiotics, and adjunctive S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe) are weakly recommended.
- Monotherapy omega-3 fatty acids and SAMe, adjunctive N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and adjunctive and monotherapy vitamin C, tryptophan, creatine, and rhodiola for unipolar depression treatment have mixed data and cannot currently clearly be recommended.
- Adjunctive or monotherapy folic acid, inositol, and magnesium showed no efficacy, and thereby cannot be recommended for use in depression.
-
Anxiety disorders:
- Adjunctive or monotherapy ashwagandha and lavender are provisionally recommended, while adjunctive NAC and monotherapy galphimia are weakly recommended. In the case of adjunctive or monotherapy chamomile, there were mixed data.
- Monotherapy use of kava in generalised anxiety disorder showed no efficacy and thereby cannot be recommended for this specific application.
-
Schizophrenia:
- Adjunctive NAC and methylfolate are provisionally recommended for negative symptoms in schizophrenia, while adjunctive vitamin D or ginkgo are weakly recommended.
- Adjunctive and monotherapy omega-3 fatty acids showed no efficacy in schizophrenia and thereby cannot be recommended for this condition.
- Weak support however existed for omega-3 in bipolar depression, while NAC was not currently recommended for use in this application.
-
ADHD:
- Monotherapy micronutrients and adjunctive or monotherapy vitamin D are weakly recommended, while there was mixed data in the case of adjunctive or monotherapy omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and ginkgo.
- Adjunctive or monotherapy omega-9 fatty acids and acetyl-L carnitine showed no efficacy and thereby cannot be recommended in ADHD.