Hyperici Oleum (St. John's wort oil) used in wound healing contains no hypericin.
By using the sunlight maceration method described in the supplement to DAB 6 (EB 6),
lipophilic breakdown products of this compound are obtained which lend the oil its
red colour. Hyperforin, which is responsible for the oil's therapeutic activity could,
for the first time, be identified and quantitatively determined by TLC and HPLC after
solid-phase extraction. The stability of hyperforin is limited; sufficient shelf-life
could only be achieved by hot maceration of dried flowers with eutanol G and storage
in the absence of air. By gradient HPLC further polar hyperforin analogues were detected
in those St. John's wort oils in which hyperforin had decomposed. At the same time
flavonoids and xanthones could be identified. A procedure for the quantitative determination
of flavonoids in St. John's wort was validated. The action of light during preparation
of the oil led to a rise in the content of flavonoids.
Hypericum perforatum
- St. John's wort oil - hypericin - hyperforin - acylphloroglucinols - flavonoids
