Hypericum patulum

The Health Effects of Medicinal Hypericum PATULUM Based ON THEIR Evidences... 

From the old times, it could be thought that Hypericum patulum. been used in their treatment and improvement for diuresis, hepatitis, cold, toothache, nosebleed or diuresis in China, and the regions such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea around mainly China. Actnally, Hypericum patulum contains medicinal pltytochemicals such as mainly flavonoids of (-)-epicatechin (1), essential oils, xanthones, triterpenoids and phytosterol. Therefore, the purpose of this Chapter is to describe the diverse functions of their phytochemicals related to hiunan healthes on these medicinal phytochemicals of Hypericum patulum. 

Keywords Hypericum patulum., Flavonoids, Cell suspension cultures of callus tissue cultures, Xanthones, Anti-hepatitis... 

Scientific name of goldencup St. John s wort or sungold St. Johnswort is Hypericum patulum Thimb. or Hypericum patulum. 

Hypericum patulum is an evergreen shrub belonging to Theales, Hypericaceae and Hypericum (Photo 1 and Photo 2). 

Photo 1. Hypericum patulum at street plantings of City, Hong Kong. Photographed by Noboru Motohashi. 9/27/2012Thu <536. IMGP8872>. 

Medicinal Phytochemicals and Their Functionality of Hypericum patulum... 

In 2001, by a research of Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Soxa, Bulgaria, it confirmed that Hypericum patulum contained no hypericin and pseudohypericin. Because, Hypericaceae plants contain generally two hypericin and pseudohypericin [2]. 

In 1997, a flavan-3-ol (-)-epicatechin (1) was identified from the cell suspension cultures in the callus tissue cultures of Hypericum patulum (Figure... 

Second, the Lineweaver-Burk plot of a analytical method of the enzymatic reaction speed revealed the inhibitor constant (competitive inhibition. Ki. The inhibition action is strong so that a Ki value is low) value 21 p.M for (-)-epicatechin (1). From the above results, it suggests that (-)-epicatechin (1) could protect against the nemodegeneration in vitro and this finding might also increase the interest in the health benefits of Hypericum patulum [4]. 

First, the content (mg/lOOg dry weight) of (-)-epicatechin (1) in callus cultures, cell suspension cultures and adventitious root cultures of Hypericum patulum was 70-200, 150-1480, and 30-450, respectively. 

Figure 1. Three procyanidines of (-)-epicatechin (1), (+)-epicatechin (2) and procyanidin B2 (3), and two anthocyanins of cyanidin 3-glucoside (4) and cyanidin 3-rutinoside (5) from Hypericum patulum cultures and a related protocatechuic acid (6).

Long Term Plant Regeneration of Hypericum patulum Shoot-Tip Culture... 

From the results, the long term eultures of Hypericum patulum shoot-tip culture could be a year-round souree on the materials of Hypericum patulum [12]. 

Antidepressant Effects of Amentoflavone (12) in Hypericum patulum Flower Extract... 

In 1997, a group of Dept, of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland studied the inhibitory effect on amentoflavone (12) (Figure 3) of a biflavonoid in the extracts of Hypericum patulum flowers against GABAA receptor (GABAAR). 

The flower extracts of Hypericum patulum efficiently inhibited the binding of [3H]flumazenil (14) (Figure 4) to the rat brain benzodiazepine binding sites of the GABAA receptor (GABAAR) in vitro at 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) value 13.2 j,g/mL. 

However, each constituent in the flower extracts of Hypericum patulum such as an antidepressant and antiviral agent hypericin (15)(Figure 4) which is a naphthodianthrone of a red-coloured anthraquinone derivative in the extract of St John s wort, the flavones quercetin (16) and luteolin (17), the glycosylated flavonoide rutin (18), hyperoside (19) and quercitrin (20) and the biflavone 13, 118-biapigenin (21) (Figure 4) did not inhibit the binding up to their concentrations of 1 j,M. 

From these results, it could suggest that in contrast to hypericin (15), amentoflavone (12) in the flower extracts of Hypericum patulum could become a potential antidepressant on the inhibition of in vitro [3H] flmnazenil (14) binding receptor [13],... 

Anti-hepatitis Effect of Hypericum patulum Leave Extracts... 

In 2010, a group of Viet Nam examined anti-hepatitis effect oi Hypericum patulum leave extracts. 

A commercial name hypatin of total flavonoid extract from Hypericum patulum Thunb. ex Murray had the hepatoprotective effect, antioxidant and the inhibitory effect against the progression of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis induced by intravenous injection and subcutaneous administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) for prolonged period in mice. 

Second, the anti-hepatitis and anti-cinhosis film-coated tablets hypatin formulated from total flavonoid fraction of Hypericum patulum Thunb. ex Murray have been studied on the standardization by Vietnam pharmacopoea. The most important parameters established for the house-standard of hypatin tablet containing 0.17 g Hypericum patulum Thunb. ex Murray total flavonoid iraetion are follows ... 

Third, a new anti-hepatitis and anti-cinhosis herbal product hypatin from Hypericum patulum Thunb. ex Murray has been experimentally evaluated for the acute toxicity in mice and the subchronic toxicity in rabbits by the oral... 

Essential Oils in Hypericum patulum Stem Extracts... 

In 2009, a group of School of Pharmacy, Dali University, China examined the essential oil of Hypericum patulum stem extracts using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after the steam distillation. Among 72 peaks, 24 essential oils with about 79.50% of the total essential oils were confirmed. A monoterpenoid a-pinene (23)(18.14%) was most abimdant and followed by 2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-3,5,5,9-tetramethyl-,(/ )-l/7-benzocycloheptene (24) (13.64%), a sesquiterpenoid P-caiyophyllene (25) (9.41%) and a sesquiterpenoid longifolene (26) (6.23%) (Figure 6) [17]. 

Figure 6. a-Pinene (23), 2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-3,5,5,9-tetramethyl-,(i )-l/ -benzocycloheptene (24), p-caiy ophyllene (25) and longifolene (26) of main essential oils m Hypericum patulum stem extracts. 

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