Melatonin and omega-3 have some limited research supporting use for sleep and depression, respectively. Preliminary reports on using evening primrose oil for ADHD were not confirmed by subsequent research. Most supplements do not have adequately controlled research to enable any conclusions that they are effective.

I have also uploaded a copy of a review article by Lakhan and Vieira (2008) on nutritional therapy and mental health. I do so with the following strong caution: as I read their report, I was surprised to see their conclusions that research supported certain supplements for OCD, so I went and looked at the actual studies they cited as evidence. Those studies never even assessed people on their OCD symptoms and only assessed depression. The authors seem to think that if something works for depression and depression and OCD involve the same neurotransmitter, that they can conclude that research supports its use for OCD. That is patently false. I did not review all of their citations, but if you find anything in that article that you are tempted to pursue, read the original research and not just their statements of what the studies demonstrate.

You can also read a government report on the use of complementary and alternative medicine based on a large-scale 2007 study.

As you read or look into alternatives, remember that no one regulates these products and they often make claims that are not backed up by controlled research. Some sites where you can find additional information are provided below.