Search results for "Hypericum"
showing 10 items of 39 documents
Content variability of bioactive secondary metabolites in Hypericum perforatum L
2021
Abstract St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.; Hypericaceae) is a perennial medicinal herb widespread and largely used in folk medicine inside the Mediterranean basin. Many bioactive compounds have been identified within its extracts. Under a pharmacological point of view, the most important of them belong to the chemical classes of naphthodianthrones, phloroglucinols and polyphenols. Many factors have been claimed responsible for the phytochemical variability in Hypericum perforatum, such as genotype, geographical origin, harvesting stage and age of the plants. Yet, when harvested plant material is addressed to the industry, the standardization of the active ingredients over cultivation…
Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Depression: Evidence from Preclinical Studies.
2021
AbstractMedicinal plants and their extracts are natural remedies with enormous potential for treating various diseases, including depression and anxiety. In the case of depression, hundreds of plants have traditionally been used in folk medicine for generations. Different plant extracts and natural products have been analyzed as potential antidepressant agents with validated models to test for antidepressant-like effects in animals, although other complementary studies have also been employed. Most of these studies focus on the possible mediators implicated in these potential effects, with dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline being the principal neurotransmitters implicated, both through …
Phytochemical profiles, phototoxic and antioxidant properties of eleven Hypericum species - A comparative study
2018
Hypericum is one out of the nine genera belonging to the botanical family Clusiaceae Lindl (syn. Hypericaceae Juss.; APG III, 2009). The genus contains 484 species spread worldwide, one of which, Hypericum perforatum, is largely used in folk medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, along with the antioxidant and phototoxic activity, of 11 Hypericum species grown in Sicily (H. perforatum L., H. aegypticum L., H. androsaemum L., H. calycinum L., H. hircinum L., H. hirsutum L., H. montanum L., H. patulum Thunb., H. perfoliatum L., H. pubescens Boiss., H. tetrapterum Fr.). Samples of flowering tops collected from these Hypericum species were extracted and analys…
Characterization and hypericins content in some Hypericum species from Sicily
2014
Different species belonging to the genus Hypericum are distributed into many environments of Sicily, where they represent an important component of wild Sicilian flora (Giardina et al., 2007). Among these, H. perforatum (St John’s Wort) is certainly the most common and famous; its floral parts are largely and traditionally used as a folk herbal remedy for treatment of wounds and burns, and considered an important raw matter for pharmaceutical industry due to their acknowledged antidepressant and sedative properties. Although it is not completely clear yet which compounds are responsible for the biological activity of Hypericum, the European Pharmacopoeia takes as a reference index for evalu…
Variability of Hypericins and Hyperforin in Hypericum Species from the Sicilian Flora
2019
Within Sicilian flora, the genus Hypericum (Guttiferae) includes 10 native species, the most popular of which is H. perforatum. Hypericum's most investigated active compounds belong to naphtodianthrones (hypericin, pseudohypericin) and phloroglucinols (hyperforin, adhyperforin), and the commercial value of the drug is graded according to its total hypericin content. Ethnobotanical sources attribute the therapeutic properties recognized for H. perforatum, also to other Hypericum species. However, their smaller distribution inside the territory suggests that an industrial use of such species, when collected from the wild, would result in an unacceptable depletion of their natural stands. This…
EVALUATION OF THE DNA BARCODING APPROACH IN HYPERICUM SPP. DISCRIMINATION
2014
Hypericum, with more than 450 species, is widespread in temperate zones all over the world. In Italy 30 taxa are known (1), 26 species and 4 subspecies; ten of them are native to Sicily, in addition to H. calycinum which is recoded as naturalized. Hypericum biochemical compounds (flavanols, flavonoids, cumarins, glicosidys, terpens, tannins, essential oils) are well recognized for many pharmacological activities: antiflogistic, improving blood flow, against traumas, in wounds and burns recovering. The most important activity is ascribed to the hipericyn, a compound especially derived from Hypericum perforatum L., with successfully application in anti-depressive phytotherapy. The medical rel…
An integrated approach to the study of Hypericum occurring in Sicily
2020
An integrated approach to the study of taxa of the genus Hypericum occurring in Sicily is proposed. The results of morphological, biochemical, and molecular analyses are combined to better assess the relationships between the species investigated and test the suitability of DNA barcoding technique in the discrimination of these taxa. For the name Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii (Spach) N. Robson a lectotype is designated. For Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra a lectotype and a supporting epitype are designated. The presence of Hypericum perforatum L. subsp. perforatum is excluded from Sicily and the previous reports have to be referred to H. perforatum subsp. veronense (Schrank) Ces. Hyper…
A further analysis of secretory structures of some taxa belonging to the genus Hypericum (Clusiaceae) in relation to the leaf vascular pattern
2014
This work extends knowledge about the distribution of secretory structures (black nodules, translucent glands, and type A and B secretory canals) to other species of the genus Hypericum L., as only H. perforatum L. appears to have been widely investigated. Moreover, the current study was extended to include leaf vascular patterns. In the species studied, a possible correlation between the presence of black nodules and a particular biological form, that of hemicryptophytes scapose perennials such as H. perfoliatum L., H. perforatum L., H. pubescens Boiss., H. tetrapterum Fr., and H. triquetrifolium Turra, was noted. These black nodules are not present in H. androsaemum L. and H. hircinum L.,…
Comparison of the volatile oils ofHypericum scabrum L. andHypericum perforatum L. from Turkey
1997
The composition of the volatile oils obtained from the aerial parts of Hypericum scabrum L. and H. perforatum L. was analysed by GC and GC‐MS. While the oil of H. scabrum L. contained a-pinene (71.6%), b-caryophyllene (4.8%), myrcene (3.8%), cadalene (3.4%) and b-pinene (2.9%), the oil of H. perforatum L. contained a-pinene (61.7%), 3-carene (7.5%), b-caryophyllene (5.5%), myrcene (3.6%), cadalene (3.2%) and other components. Twenty-nine and 27 terpenoid compounds have been identified in the volatile oils of H. scabrum L. and H. perforatum L., respectively. #1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hypericum perforatum L. prevents the acquisition of and promotes resilience against stress-induced reinstatement of the conditioned place preference …
2021
Abstract Cocaine use disorder is a serious problem worldwide, and there are no approved medications for its treatment. A novel approach to the treatment of drug addiction is the use of natural products, and, in this context, preclinical evidence suggests that Hypericum perforatum L. (Hypericum) is effective against alcohol and other substance use disorders. We hypothesised that Hypericum could also be useful as a treatment for cocaine use disorder, and so we set out to test its effectiveness in a mice model of cocaine addiction. In the first experiment we evaluated its effects on the acquisition of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). Adult male mice were conditioned with coc…