Of Hypericum genus

In the Canary Islands, various species of Hypericum genus have been used in folkloric medicine as a vermifuge, diuretic, and wound healer, as well as a sedative, antihysteric, and antidepressant agent [117]. 

Hypericin, Fig. (13) is a polycyclic quinone obtained from plants of Hypericum genus, which exhibits strong photodynamic antitumor effects. 

The aim of this chapter is not only to provide a review of the distribution of xanthones in Hypericum genus, but also to cover some more specific aspects such as biosynthesis, chemotaxonomic significance, biological activities, and synthesis. 

The essential oils from a number of Hypericum species proved to be useful chemotaxonomic markers for the genus [17-19]. Mathis and... 

Ourisson reported that the main constituents of hypericum essential oils are represented by hydrocarbons (methyl-2-octane and n- nonane), monoterpenes (limonene, a- and p-pinene), and sesquiterpenes (8-caryophyllene). The relative content of limonene has been taken as a diacritic character to divide the genus into two groups one including sections with a high content of limonene (> 10%), and the other comprehensive of plant sections containing less than 5% of limonene in their essential oils, Fig. (2) [17]. 

Phytochemical studies of different species of Hypericum indicated that the genus is a valuable source of secondary metabolites, with peculiar chemical features. Several other prenylated phloroglucinols, not related to hyperforin and sometimes unique in their structure, have been identified in II. drummondii [53],//. brasiliense [54], and//, japonicum [55],... 

Due to their complex composition the pharmacokinetic assessment of herbal medications generally imposes serious technical and regulatory problems. As the active principle(s) of plant extracts are often not known it is difficult to decide which constituent(s) should actually be studied [218]. In the absence of a well defined therapeutically relevant chemical entity, characteristic constituents of herbal preparations are frequently employed for the purpose of standardization. Correspondingly, pharmacokinetic evaluations of Hypericum extracts have almost exclusively been based on the analysis of the naphthodianthrones hypericin 1 and pseudohypericin 2 which represent typical products of members of the genus Hypericum and are considered to be involved in some of their clinical effects. 

All members of the genus may be referred to as St. John s worts , though they are also commonly called Hypericums. Some species are used as ornamentals and have large, showy flowers. Two introduced leaf-feeding beetles Chrysolina quadrigemina and C. hyperici have been used successfully in Canada as a biological control. ... 

The ability of species to synthesize their own defensive allomones may have Important ecological correlates vis-a-vis their tendency to sequester plant allelochemlcs. Chrysomelld beetles in the genus Chrysollna sequester hypericin, a naphthodlanthrone present in their food plants, Hypericum spp. (2A). On the other hand, many species in this genus synthesize cardenolldes novo, but those that feed on Hypericum do not (25). It appears that there has been no selection pressure for the biosynthesis of cardenolldes in Chrysollna species that sequester hypericin, a known mammalian toxin, in their body tissues. 

The Gutliferae of tropical Central and South America and the West Indies are a source of ornamentals or edible fruits (mammee apple, mangosteen). The genus Hypericum, placed in a separate family (Hyperiaceae) by some authors, is maintained in the Gutti-ferae here. 

Synthesis of Xanthones Isolated from Genus Hypericum. 153... 

Abstract There has been an increasing interest in the genus Hypericum, because it is a source of a variety of compounds with different biological activities. Xanthones are... 

They can be further subdivided into six groups depending on the degree of oxygenation pattern of the basic skeleton. Genus Hypericum contains all... 

The genus Hypericum, (Clusiaceae Lindley, syn. Guttiferae A.L. de Jussieu) includes a large number of species worldwide distributed [1]. Several of the botanical species belonging to the genus are used in folk medicine and among them H. perforatum L. (St. John s Wort) is especially known as a traditional remedy for the treatment of melancholia, abdominal and urogenital pain and ulcerated bums [2,3]. Over the last two decades, it has been demonstrated that St. John s Wort is effective as an antidepressant [4-6], an antiviral [7,3] and an antimicrobial [8]. 

The great deal of investigations and scientific reports on the chemistry and biological properties of plants belonging to the genus Hypericum have disclosed characteristic and sometimes unique features. 

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