Hypericum red

Hypericum red hypericin, hyperglycaemic-glyeogenolytic factor glucagon. 

Isolation of hypericin, first named hypericum red , dates back to the beginning of 1800 however, its correct structure and total synthesis was accomplished about one century later [10,31-33], Hypericin, with inorganic... 

Arif Khan, Nick Redding and Walter A. Brown, 2008. Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group, 2002. 

Hypericin and related compounds are responsible for the red/dark colour of the glands found on the leaves and petals of Hypericum species. The pigment is not a common natural component until now, it has been isolated only from Hypericum plants and from some species of insects [2,30], where it acts as a photoreceptor. 

Figure 8 Thin-layer chromatography of Hypericum perforatum. The chromatograms show no important differences between the herbai drug and the extract except the red spots in front. Both spots are the resuit of chiorophyll, which is eliminated by the extraction procedure. Red spots Hypericin and pseudohypericin yeiiow and orange spots fiavonoids (glycosides R, 0.5 agly-cones R, 0.8) blue spot ubiquitous plant acids. Reference traces on the left Hypericin chlorogenic acid and quercetin. (Reproduced with permission from Beat Meier, Zeller AG, Herbal Remedies, Romanshorn, Switzerland.)...

Hypericin, the dark-red pigment from Hypericum perforatum, is a dehydrodianthrone, structurally an anthraquinone. However, it does not break down to anthrone in the bowel and is without laxative action. Hypericin has been thoroughly investigated and used (generally in Hypericum extracts standardised to hypericin content) for antidepressant and antiviral activities (Bombardelli and Morazzoni 1995). 

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. 

Hypericin and pseudohypericin (Fig. 21) are naphthodianthrones and occur in St. John s wort Hypericum perforatum, Clusiaceae). These dark-red compounds are accumulated in glands on the margin oiK perforatum leaves and petals. It was assumed for a long time that they represent the antidepressant principle in extracts of St. John s wort. Recently, however, it became evident that the prenylated acylphloroglucinols hyperforin and adhyperforin are responsible for most of the pharmacological effects. 

Cmde dried or fresh herb, fresh or dried flowers in olive oil, extracts, tinctures, synthetic hypericin, and so on. Hypericum oil, prepared by maceration of fresh flowers in sunlight for several weeks (usually in olive oil) acquires a red hue usually ascribed to hypericin or lipophilic substituted compounds with a hypericin-like color and fluorescence. Hyperforin is found in freshly macerated oil but is unstable, breaking down within 30-90 days stability can be increased to 6 months in storage by excluding air and using alternate preparation methods. ... 

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