A new approach to the complex processing of dry st. John’s wort herbs

Abstract

The common St. John's wort herbs (Hypericum perforatum L.) is a perennial medicinal plant of the Hypericaceae family. Valuable raw materials are found in the grass and flowers of St. John's won, which contain a combination of biologically active substances including flavonoids, anthracene derivatives, tannins, considerable amounts of chlorophyll, etc. [1- 3]. Drug preparations based on St. John's wort extract exhibit antiseptic, vasotonic, styptic, antibiotic, and antidepressant properties [4, 5]. Dry St. John's wort grass is used to obtain a number of preparations, including tinctures, aqueous decoctions, dry extracts, hyperin (glucoside), and a complex drug Etrad representing a combination of sequential ethanol and aqueous tinctures of St. John's wort grass residues upon primary extraction with ethanol [6]. Also developed were the technologies for two other preparations called Imanin and Novoimanin [7]. In folk medicine, the grass and flower extracts of St. John's wort mixed with white grape wine and turpentine is used as a "composite oil" for the treamaent of burns. At present, the only galenic preparation of this plant available from the domestic pharmaceutical industry is the grass extract of St. John's wort [9]. Most of the lipophilie biologically active substances are not extracted antl are lost with pulp residues. According to the published data, St. John's wort oil is obtained by extracting dry grass with hot vegetable oil taken in