An international panel of experts reviewed the evidence for supplements and plant-based products used in mental health care. The group brought together 31 academics and clinicians from 15 countries and met between 2019 and 2021. They looked at 15 nutraceuticals and 10 phytoceuticals across mood, anxiety, psychotic and ADHD conditions. For ADHD, their advice was aimed at children.
For ADHD, the panel gave weak support to broad-spectrum micronutrient formulas and to vitamin D. The micronutrient rating rested on a review of just two trials (one in adults, one in children), and the vitamin D rating on a single review. The panel did not support omega-3, omega-9, acetyl-L-carnitine, zinc or ginkgo.
The panel also described the doses that trials had used. These were 8 to 12 capsules of a micronutrient formula, 1500 to 4000 IU of vitamin D, 120 mg to 1200 mg of omega-3, 15 mg to 40 mg of elemental zinc, and 80 mg to 120 mg of ginkgo per day. This describes what the studies did, not a recommendation.
The panel used only the strongest tier of evidence and left out single trials. It also warned that a lack of data does not mean a product does not work. Anyone thinking about a supplement should talk with a clinician about their own situation.
Source: Jerome Sarris, Arun Ravindran, Lakshmi N. Yatham, et al.. Clinician guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders with nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals: The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Taskforce. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry (2022). doi:10.1080/15622975.2021.2013041