St. John's Wort Extract

Name: St. John Wort Extract Latin Name: Hypericum perforatum L., Specification: 0.3% Total Dianthrones 3% Hyperforin

Product Name: St. John’s Wort Extract

Latin Name: Hypericum perforatum L., 

Original plant:  Herb of Hypericum perforatum L., 

Specification: 0.3% Total Dianthrones & 3% Hyperforin 

Test method: HPLC or UV  

Appearance:  Deep brown powder

Chemical composition:

St. John’s Wort extract is a very complex substance with many bioactive compounds.

1.        Naphthodianthrones: This class includes Hypericin, Pseudohypericin, Protohypericin, Protopseudohypericin, Cyclopseudohypericin, etc. Both hypericin and pseudohypericin are photosensitizing agents. They have antiviral actions.

2.        Favonoids: These include: a. Flavonols: quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin. And quercetin has been shown in one study to inhibit MAO in vitro. b. Flavonol glycosides: hyperoside, also called hyperin, amentoflavone, rutin, etc. And amentoflavone is now the leading candidate for the antidepressant agent in St. John’s Wort.

3.        Phloroglucinols & derivatives including hyperforin, etc. Hyperforin possesses antibiotic properties and it can inhibit the growth of MRSA (meticillin-resistant S. aureus). It also plays an important part in antidepressing.

4.        Tannins: They are believed partly responsible for St. John’s Wort’s anti-diarrheal effects.

5.        Amino acids are the building blocks of most neurotransmitters and some, such as GABA, are active in their own right. GABA is the main neurotransmitter responsible for calming brain activity and is known to have sedative effects.

         Hyperforin                           Hyperoside

     Pseudohypericin                         Hypericin

  

Benefits of St. John’s Wort extract:

1.        Antidepressant activity:

Today St. John’s Wort extract is mainly used to treatment mild to moderate depression. This action appears to be based on the ability of hypericin and other components of St. John’s Wort to inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO) types A and B. As a result of this inhibition the level within the brain increases of certain nerve impulse transmitters – those that maintain normal mood and emotional stability.

2.        Antiviral activity:

The antiviral activity of substances contained in the St. John’s Wort extract has been extensively studied since the second half of the eighties. This action is due to hypericin, pseudohypericin and hyperforin. It is efficient antiviral agents against vesicular stomatitis, influenza virus and herpes, simplex virus types I and II.

3.        Antibacterial activity:

St. John’s Wort extracts have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against both gram-negative and gram-posititve bacteria. The organisms studied included Staphylococcus aures, Streptococcus mutans, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

St. John's Wort Extract