Abstract
The study shows the influence of the origin of plant material and biological source on the in vitro antioxidant (neutralization of DPPH and OH radical, nitric oxide, and inhibition of lipid peroxidation) and anticholinesterase activity of chemically characterized and quantified ethanol extracts of ten St. John’s wort samples. The investigated samples were: five Hypericum perforatum species representatives collected at different localities, one commercial sample of Hyperici herba purchased at a local market and four Hypericum species autochtonous to the Balkan Peninsula (H. maculatum subsp. immaculatum, H. olympicum, H. richeri subsp. grisebachii and H. barbatum). All the examined extracts exhibited notable antioxidant potential, but in most of the cases indigenous Hypericum species expressed stronger effects compared to the original source of the drug, H. perforatum. The changes in the content of phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, hyperforin and hypericin, related to the source of the drug affected the investigated activities. Since all of the investigated species have shown prominent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in vitro activity, they could be further investigated as potential substances in preventing of Alzheimer’s disease.
Highlights
Most antioxidant and some other biological/pharmacological activities from different plant sources are derived from phenolic-type compounds [33,34]
These effects do not always correlate with the presence of specific phenolics in large quantities, especially when a subclass of flavonoids and/or naphtodianthrones is in qualition
The investigated extracts have been analyzed for the yield of dry extract, the total phenolic and flavonoid content, as well as for the quantity of the selected compounds considered to be responsible for most of St
Summary
St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L., Hypericaceae) is a very popular and widely used traditional herbal remedy, accepted by conventional medicine, too. The crude drug (Hyperici herba) and commercial preparations have been well chemically investigated and the major constituents, responsible for pharmacological effects have been characterized [2,4]. Many other species belonging to the genus Hypericum have long been known as traditional medicines, especially due to their strong antimicrobial and wound healing effects [29,30]. In the present work have been evaluated the antioxidant effect, performed by different methods, in vitro inhibition of acethylcholinesterase activity and correlated with the chemical constituency of ethanol extracts of ten St. John’s wort samples
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