2 research outputs found
Variation of hypericin in St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) from wild populations of Northern Turkey
Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's wort) is a
well-known traditional medicinal plant that has been used for centuries for the
treatment of several diseases and this feature is obviously attributed to the
presence of a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites including hypericins. In
the present study, the aim was to determine total hypericin content of this
plant from wild population of Northern Turkey. Thus, Hypericum perforatum
plants representing a total of 45 wild populations were collected from 15 sites
in each of 3 regions, during flowering and subsequently assayed for total
hypericin. Hypericin content in these wild populations varied from 0.28 to 4.46
mg/g dry matter. According to the results of analysis of variance, there was a
significant difference in hypericin content between sites as well as regions.
One of the problems associated with medicinal plant preparations is the extreme
variability in the phytomedicinal and marker compounds. Products containing H.
perforatum have varied greatly in content of secondary metabolites since it is
currently supplied by cultivated and wild-harvested materials. Therefore the
variation of phytomedicinals like hypericin in H. perforatum, especially from
wild populations has a great importance in term of health care and herbal
industry