ESSENTIAL OILS OF TWO Hypericum SPECIES FROM UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

The water-distilled essential oils from aerial parts of two Hypericum species (Hypericaceae) have been analyzed by GC/MS. The main components of the essential oils of Hypericum scabrum L. were α-pinene - 11.2%; spathulenol - 7.2%; p-cymene - 6.1%; acetophenone - 4.8%; carvacrol - 4.7%. The essential oil of Hypericum perforatum L. contains as the main components β-caryophyllene - 11.7%; caryophellene oxide - 6.3%; spathulenol - 6.0%; α-pinene - 5.0%. Hypericum (Hypericaceae) species have been used for a long time in folk medicine. In r ecent years H. perforatum has been the ingredient of modern medicines for the treatment of mild depression. The essential oil of H. perforatum has previously been investigated (1-5). In a r ecent study (3), α-pinene (61.7%) was reported as the main constituent of the oil in the plant material of Turkish origin. Hypericum perforatum L. is included in the Pharmacopoeias of Russia, Chekhiya, Romania, Poland, and France (4). In Uzbekistan, a skin remedy is prepared from ashes of its herbal parts. It is used as an antihe lminthic in veterinary medicine. The yield and physicochemical properties and oil composition of Hypericum scabrum L. of Turkish origin has previously been reported (3, 6). It was found to contain α-pinene (71.6%) as the main constituent (3). Here we report our results on the essential oil composition of H. scabrum and H. perforatum from Uzbekistan. H. scabrum collected in Khisor mountain in the Kashkadarya region of Uzbekistan yielded 0.2% essential oil and H. perforatum collected in Nanai village in Chimgan mountains in Tashkent region yielded 0.1% essen tial oil. The composition of the oils is given in Table 1. A total of 104 and 106 components were characterized representing 85.9% and 89.6% of the essential oils in H. scabrum L. and H. perforatum L., respectively. α-Pinene (11.2%), spathulenol (7.2%), p-cymene (6.1%), acetophenone (4.8%), carvacrol (4.7%) were the main constituents of the essential oil of H. scabrum. The main components of the essential oil of H. perforatum were β-caryophyllene (11.7%), caryophyllene oxide (6.3%), spathulenol (6.0%), α-pinene (5.0%). Caryophyllene and pinene rich oils of H. perforatum have been reported (1-5). Our results are in agreement with the