Composition of the essential oils of three Hypericum species from Florida

The genus Hypericum (Guttiferae) comprises ca. 370 species widespread in warm-temperate regions and tropical mountains [1]. The interest in the genus Hypericum is increasing since its constituents posses therapeutic effects having antimicrobial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and antidepressant properties [2, 3]. Aerial parts from three Hypericum species namely, H. fasciculatum, H. galioides and H. microsepalum were collected from Florida, USA (2004) during the flower stage. The essential oils were isolated from dry aerial parts by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The aerial parts of H. fasciculatum yielded 0.5% (v/w) of oil, in which thirty-five compounds were identified, representing 82.3% of total oil, with γ- muurolene (9.5%), (E)-caryophyllene (8.7%) and spathulenol (8.6%) being the main compounds. Aerial parts of H. galioides and H. microsepalum yielded 0.3% and 0.25% (v/w) of oils, in which twenty-eight compounds and thirty-three compounds were identified respectively, representing 83.2% and 91.9% of the total oils. The main compounds of H. galioides oil were spathulenol (15.5%), β-bisabolene (14.8%) and (E)-caryophyllene (14.8%), while in H. microsepalum oil δ- cadinene (13.5%), germacrene D (11.1%) and (E)-caryophyllene (9.8%) were the major components.

References: 1. Mabberley, D.J. (1997) The plant-Book. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 2. Newall, C.A, et al. (1996) Herbal Medicines a Guide for Health-Care Professionals. The Pharmaceutical press. London. 3. Blumenthal, M. (2003) The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs. American Botanical Council. Austin, Texas.