Alternative medicine has started the year with a one-two hit. First came the findings last week about Gingko biloba, the herbal supplement that millions of Americans have been taking to ward off memory problems as they age.

Then, on Monday, a second randomized doubled-blinded clinical trial, this one conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, reported that another popular herbal supplement, St. John’s wort, was ineffective as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

“I don’t think that we should be surprised by our findings, but we were definitely hoping that there would be a positive outcome from this, and there was not,” said Yuri Saito, MD, a gastroenterologist and the study’s lead author, in a phone interview on Monday.

MinnPost, by Susan Perry, 1/5/10

Tags: GI, irritable bowel syndrome, Psychology and Psychiatry, St. John's Wort