BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW

Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's wort) is a medicinal plant that has been intensivly studied by clinicians, pharmacologists, and chemists. It has resulted in the publication of both original articles and a number of, reviews devoted to the general spectrum of the biological activity of its e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: A. L. Budantsev, V. A. Prikhodko, I. V. Varganova, S. V. Okovityi
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Volgograd State Medical University, Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute 2021-06-01
Series:Фармация и фармакология (Пятигорск)
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.pharmpharm.ru/jour/article/view/793
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849242044487172096
author A. L. Budantsev
V. A. Prikhodko
I. V. Varganova
S. V. Okovityi
author_facet A. L. Budantsev
V. A. Prikhodko
I. V. Varganova
S. V. Okovityi
author_sort A. L. Budantsev
collection DOAJ
description Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's wort) is a medicinal plant that has been intensivly studied by clinicians, pharmacologists, and chemists. It has resulted in the publication of both original articles and a number of, reviews devoted to the general spectrum of the biological activity of its extracts and the separate chemical components of this species. Unlike many other known medicinal plants, the pharmacological study of which is accompanied by the establishment of new (or rediscovered) structures of chemical compounds, the dynamics of the present study of H. perforatum is mostly associated with a detailed study of the mechanisms of its therapeutic effect and less with the search for new components.The aim of this work is to review and analyze the data on the biological activity of extracts and individual components of Hypericum perforatum L. (Hypericaceae), or St. John's wort, published in the scientific literature over the past 10 years.Materials and methods. To collect and analyze the information, such electronic databases as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other available resources have been used. The following keywords and word combinations were used for search in the databases for 2010-2020: “Hypericum perforatum”, “St. John's wort”, “the biological activity of St. John's wort”, “hypericin”, “hyperforin”.Results. The review provides information on antidepressant, neuroprotective, nootropic, anxiolytic activity, antibacterial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory properties, analgesic, hypoglycaemic effects, and other types of activity of H. perforatum extracts, as well as individual compounds (hypericin, hyperforin, amentoflavone, and others), isolated from this species. It is well known that the secondary metabolites of St. John's wort are naphthodianthrons, flavonoids and other phenolic compounds, several classes of lipophilic substances including phloroglucinol derivatives and terpenoids. Apart from extracts and their fractions, the biological activity of photoreactive naphthodianthrone hypericin and hyperforin (a phloroglucinol derivative) has been studied in detail.This review provides an analysis of published data from 2010 to 2020 on the biological activity of St. John's wort. At the present time H. perforatum is primarily well-known for its antidepressant-like properties, which are confirmed by numerous pharmacological studies and clinical trials. Still there is no consensus on the effective treatment of severe or even moderate depression with St. John's wort. This review also provides information on the neuroprotective, nootropic, antiepileptic, anxiolytic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, antitumor, cytotoxic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and other effects of H. perforatum extracts, as well as its individual compounds.Conclusion. Despite the popularity of H. perforatum as a plant with an antidepressant-like activity, intensive research work continues to be carried out to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the actions of extracts and individual compounds in disorders of the nervous system. Studying its antibacterial, antiviral, and cytotoxic activity may also open up some great prospects, along with determining the possibility of using St. John's wort in metabolic disorders, genitourinary disorders, and other fields of medicine.
format Article
id doaj-art-4df3eb38159743baad69741a2b0c4706
institution Kabale University
issn 2307-9266
2413-2241
language Russian
publishDate 2021-06-01
publisher Volgograd State Medical University, Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute
record_format Article
series Фармация и фармакология (Пятигорск)
spelling doaj-art-4df3eb38159743baad69741a2b0c47062025-08-20T03:59:56ZrusVolgograd State Medical University, Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical InstituteФармация и фармакология (Пятигорск)2307-92662413-22412021-06-0191173110.19163/2307-9266-2021-9-1-17-31373BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEWA. L. Budantsev0V. A. Prikhodko1I. V. Varganova2S. V. Okovityi3Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Science 2, Prof. Popov St., St. Petersburg, Russia, 197376Saint Petersburg State Chemical and Pharmaceutical University 14, Prof. Popov St., St. Petersburg, Russia, 197376Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Science 2, Prof. Popov St., St. Petersburg, Russia, 197376Saint Petersburg State Chemical and Pharmaceutical University 14, Prof. Popov St., St. Petersburg, Russia, 197376Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's wort) is a medicinal plant that has been intensivly studied by clinicians, pharmacologists, and chemists. It has resulted in the publication of both original articles and a number of, reviews devoted to the general spectrum of the biological activity of its extracts and the separate chemical components of this species. Unlike many other known medicinal plants, the pharmacological study of which is accompanied by the establishment of new (or rediscovered) structures of chemical compounds, the dynamics of the present study of H. perforatum is mostly associated with a detailed study of the mechanisms of its therapeutic effect and less with the search for new components.The aim of this work is to review and analyze the data on the biological activity of extracts and individual components of Hypericum perforatum L. (Hypericaceae), or St. John's wort, published in the scientific literature over the past 10 years.Materials and methods. To collect and analyze the information, such electronic databases as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other available resources have been used. The following keywords and word combinations were used for search in the databases for 2010-2020: “Hypericum perforatum”, “St. John's wort”, “the biological activity of St. John's wort”, “hypericin”, “hyperforin”.Results. The review provides information on antidepressant, neuroprotective, nootropic, anxiolytic activity, antibacterial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory properties, analgesic, hypoglycaemic effects, and other types of activity of H. perforatum extracts, as well as individual compounds (hypericin, hyperforin, amentoflavone, and others), isolated from this species. It is well known that the secondary metabolites of St. John's wort are naphthodianthrons, flavonoids and other phenolic compounds, several classes of lipophilic substances including phloroglucinol derivatives and terpenoids. Apart from extracts and their fractions, the biological activity of photoreactive naphthodianthrone hypericin and hyperforin (a phloroglucinol derivative) has been studied in detail.This review provides an analysis of published data from 2010 to 2020 on the biological activity of St. John's wort. At the present time H. perforatum is primarily well-known for its antidepressant-like properties, which are confirmed by numerous pharmacological studies and clinical trials. Still there is no consensus on the effective treatment of severe or even moderate depression with St. John's wort. This review also provides information on the neuroprotective, nootropic, antiepileptic, anxiolytic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, antitumor, cytotoxic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and other effects of H. perforatum extracts, as well as its individual compounds.Conclusion. Despite the popularity of H. perforatum as a plant with an antidepressant-like activity, intensive research work continues to be carried out to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the actions of extracts and individual compounds in disorders of the nervous system. Studying its antibacterial, antiviral, and cytotoxic activity may also open up some great prospects, along with determining the possibility of using St. John's wort in metabolic disorders, genitourinary disorders, and other fields of medicine.https://www.pharmpharm.ru/jour/article/view/793st. john's wortantidepressantneuroprotectivenootropicanxiolyticantibacterialcytotoxichypoglycemic activityhypericinhyperforinamentoflavone
spellingShingle A. L. Budantsev
V. A. Prikhodko
I. V. Varganova
S. V. Okovityi
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
Фармация и фармакология (Пятигорск)
st. john's wort
antidepressant
neuroprotective
nootropic
anxiolytic
antibacterial
cytotoxic
hypoglycemic activity
hypericin
hyperforin
amentoflavone
title BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
title_full BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
title_fullStr BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
title_full_unstemmed BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
title_short BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. (HYPERICACEAE): A REVIEW
title_sort biological activity of hypericum perforatum l hypericaceae a review
topic st. john's wort
antidepressant
neuroprotective
nootropic
anxiolytic
antibacterial
cytotoxic
hypoglycemic activity
hypericin
hyperforin
amentoflavone
url https://www.pharmpharm.ru/jour/article/view/793
work_keys_str_mv AT albudantsev biologicalactivityofhypericumperforatumlhypericaceaeareview
AT vaprikhodko biologicalactivityofhypericumperforatumlhypericaceaeareview
AT ivvarganova biologicalactivityofhypericumperforatumlhypericaceaeareview
AT svokovityi biologicalactivityofhypericumperforatumlhypericaceaeareview