An Investigation on the Safety and Effects of St. John’s Wort 
(Hypericum perforatum) on Women Receiving Estrogen-Containing 
Oral Contraceptive Agents : A Pilot Study.

Principal Investigator : Lingtak-Neander Chan, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Departments of Pharmacy Practice & Medicine
Colleges of Pharmacy & Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago (MC 886)

Co-Investigators : Jennifer Hardman, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Pharmacotherapist, Center for Women’s Health
Department of Pharmacy Practice
College of Pharmacy
University of Illinois at Chicago (MC 886)
Email : Jhardman@uic.edu

Lee P. Shulman, MD
Professor, Division of Reproductive Genetics
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Molecular Genetics
College of Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago (MC808)
Email : Shulman@uic.edu


SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE STUDY

1. To investigate whether St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) adversely affects the efficacy of estrogen-containing oral contraceptive agents. 

2. To investigate the mechanism of drug interaction between St. John’s wort and estrogen 

3. To evaluate whether St. John’s wort has clinically significant pharmacodynamic and physiologic effects of female sex hormones, including ovarian follicular size, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), menstrual flow, and hemostasis.