HYPERICUM PERFORATUM

Hypericum perforatum is used for mild to moderate depression, supported by clinical studies that suggest effectiveness comparable to SSRIs with fewer side effects
Hypericum perforatum demonstrates anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral properties; hyperforin acts on Gram-positive bacteria; usefulness in wound healing and infection resistance observed
Hypericum perforatum has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, especially for treating wounds and depression.

CAS Number: 84082‑80‑4
EC Number: 282‑026‑4 
INCI Name: Hypericum perforatum Flower/Leaf Extract 

SYNONYMS:
H. officinale Gaterau, H. officinarum Crantz, H. vulgare Lam., Hypericum perforatum extract, St. John’s wort extract, Hypericum oil, St. John’s wort flower/leaf extract, Weeping Forsythia extract, St. John’s wort powder extract

Hypericum perforatum is listed as a noxious weed in one or more Midwestern states outside Missouri and should not be moved or grown under conditions that would involve danger of dissemination.
Hypericum perforatum is an herbaceous perennial plant with hairless (glabrous) stems and leaves.

The root of each plant is slender and woody with many small, fibrous small side roots and also extensive, creeping rhizomes.
The central root grows to a depth of 0.6–1.5 metres (2 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) into the soil depending on conditions.
The crown of the root is woody.

Its stems are erect and branched in the upper section, and usually range from 0.3 metres to 1 metre in height.
The stems are woody near their base and look like they have segmented joints from the scars left behind after the leaves fall off.
The stems of Hypericum perforatum are rusty-yellow to rosy in color with two distinct edges and usually have bark that sheds near the base.

The stems of Hypericum perforatum persist through the winter and sprout new growth with flower buds in the following year; first year growth does not produce flowers.
Hypericum perforatum has leaves that attach on opposite sides of the stems without a stalk (sessile).

The leaves vary in shape from being very narrow and almost grass-like (linear), to a rounded oval slightly wider at the base with a rounded tip or not much of a tip (elliptic), or even narrow with the widest portion towards the end of the leaf like a reversed lance point, but still long and narrow (oblanceolate).

The principle leaves range in length from 0.8 to 3.5 centimetres and 0.31–1.6 centimetres in width.
Leaves borne on the branches subtend the shortened branchlets.
The leaves are yellow-green in color, with scattered translucent dots of glandular tissue.

The dots are clearly visible when held up to the light, giving the leaves a perforated appearance.
The edges (margins) of the leaves usually have scattered black dots, often called dark glands, though sometimes they will appear away from the edges.

The odor of the plant is faint, but aromatic, resembling that of resins like balsam.
The taste of the plant is bitter and acrid.

Hypericum perforatum, commonly known as St. John's wort (sometimes perforate St. John's wort or common St. John's wort), is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae.
Hypericum perforatum is a hairless, perennial herb with woody roots, yellow flowers marked by black glands, and leaves that appear perforated due to translucent glands, producing thousands of seeds per plant.

Hypericum perforatum is the type species of its genus, known for its historical use in folklore and traditional medicine.
Hypericum perforatum is robably a hybrid between the closely related H. attenuatum and H. maculatum (imperforate St. John's wort) that originated in Siberia, the species has spread worldwide.

Hypericum perforatum can further hybridize with related species due to its allopolyploid nature.
Hypericum perforatum is native to much of Europe, West and Central Asia, and parts of Africa and China and has been widely introduced elsewhere, thriving in well-drained, temperate habitats such as meadows, hillsides, and open woods with moderate rainfall and mild temperatures.

Hypericum perforatum is a resilient, and invasive plant that reproduces sexually and vegetatively, supports specialized insect herbivores, suffers from plant diseases, and poses ecological and agricultural threats in many parts of the world.
The flowers are conspicuous and showy, measuring about 1.5–2.5 cm (0.59–0.98 in) across, and are bright yellow with black dots along the edges of the petals.

Each of the flowers normally has five large petals and five smaller leaf-like sepals below them.
The sepals are about 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) in length, green in color, are shaped like the head of a spear (lanceolate shape) with a pointed tip, and the same clear and black glands as the leaves.

The petals are significantly longer, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) in length, and have an oblong shape.
They completely hide the sepals from the front side of the flower.
The many bright yellow stamens are united at the base into three bundles.

The stalk portion of the stamens, the filaments, vary in length and stick out in every direction from the center of the flower.
The pollen grains are pale brown to orange in color.
Each flowering stem bears many flowers, between 25 and 100, and also is quite leafy.

The fruit of Hypericum perforatum is a capsule 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) in length containing the seeds in three valved chambers.
Seeds that are separated from the capsules have a much higher germination rate due to an inhibiting factor in the capsule itself.
The black and lustrous seeds are rough, netted with coarse grooves.

Each seed is about 1 mm (0.039 in) in size.
Each plant may produce an average of 15,000 to 34,000 seeds.

Similar species.
Hypericum maculatum is visually similar to Hypericum perforatum; however, its stems have four ridges instead of two and are also hollow.
In addition, its leaves have fewer translucent glands and more dark glands.
H. maculatum is native to the Old World but has also been introduced to North America.

In North America several native species may be confused with Hypericum perforatum.
Hypericum anagalloides is a low-growing creeping plant with rounder leaves and fewer stamens.
Hypericum boreale is a smaller plant with more delicate flowers.

Hypericum canadense has smaller flowers with sepals that show between the petals.
Hypericum concinnum has flowers with petals that bend backward at the tip and also has much narrower, gray-green leaves.
Growing in riparian areas along rivers, Hypericum ellipticum has wider leaves with a more elliptic shape.

Hypericum scouleri has leaves that are broader at the base and also thicker.
All except for H. concinnum grow in environments that are generally more moist than where H. perforatum is found.

Phytochemistry.
The most common active chemicals in Hypericum perforatum are hypericin and pseudohypericin (naphthodianthrones), and hyperforin (a phloroglucinol derivative).

The species contains a host of essential oils, the bulk of which are sesquiterpenes.
In the wild, the concentrations of any active chemicals can vary widely among individual plants and populations.

USES and APPLICATIONS of HYPERICUM PERFORATUM:
Therapeutic & Nutraceutical (oral extracts): Hypericum perforatum is used for mild to moderate depression, supported by clinical studies that suggest effectiveness comparable to SSRIs with fewer side effects

Hypericum perforatum demonstrates anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral properties; hyperforin acts on Gram-positive bacteria; usefulness in wound healing and infection resistance observed

Hypericum perforatum has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, especially for treating wounds and depression.
To prepare Hypericum perforatum for use, the oil from its glands can be extracted or its above-ground parts can be dried and ground into a powder called herba hyperici.

Hypericum perforatum exhibits antidepressant effects comparable to drugs with fewer side effects for mild to moderate depression (for which it is approved in the European Union); however, it may interact with various medications by accelerating their metabolism.

-Antidepressant effects of Hypericum perforatum:
Hypericum perforatum has approval in the European Union as a herbal product for the treatment of mild to moderate depressive episodes (according to ICD-10) and for the short-term treatment of symptoms in mild depression.

Hypericum perforatum has been found in multiple reviews and meta-analyses to be more effective than placebo and as effective as standard antidepressants, including SSRIs, for mild to moderate depression, with some evidence suggesting fewer adverse effects and lower discontinuation rates.

In vitro, Hypericum perforatum acts mainly as a reuptake inhibitor of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine; additional antidepressant effects may come from its interactions with GABA receptors.

Inability to treat cancer.
There is no clinical evidence that Hypericum perforatum is effective to treat cancer.

The National Cancer Institute has commented that "the FDA has not approved the use of Hypericum perforatum as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition".
Hypericum perforatum may reduce the efficacy of chemotherapy.

-Interactions of Hypericum perforatum with drugs:
Use of Hypericum perforatum may cause significant drug interactions, primarily through PXR activation and CYP3A4 induction linked to its hyperforin content, affecting the efficacy and safety of various medications.

Hypericum perforatum can interfere with the effects of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in potentially adverse ways by increasing CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 liver enzymes, leading to faster conversion of drugs.

Specific consequences may include reduced effectiveness of oral contraceptives, heart medications, HIV drugs, cancer medications, and some anticoagulants; other adverse effects may involve breakthrough bleeding when taking oral contraceptives, and decreased effectiveness of immunosuppressants in people with organ transplants.

The increase in these enzymes have been found to be caused by high hyperforin content; consumption of Hypericum perforatum products with minimal hyperforin causes fewer side effects and less interference.
However, the concentration of Hypericum perforatum's constituent chemicals (including hyperforin) can vary widely between different products, and their dosage may not be properly marked on packaging.

-Traditional medicine uses of Hypericum perforatum:
Common Hypericum perforatum has been used in herbalism for centuries.

Hypericum perforatum was used in classical antiquity and was a standard component of ancient concoctions called theriacs, from the Mithridate of Aulus Cornelius Celsus' De Medicina (c. 30 CE) to the Venice treacle of d'Amsterdammer Apotheek in 1686.

One folk use included the oily extract known as St John's oil, a red, oily liquid extracted from Hypericum perforatum that may have been a treatment for wounds by the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of St John.
The dried flower is crushed to make the compound known as herba hyperici.

-Dyeing pigment
Hypericum perforatum generally produces a variety of yellows suitable for dyeing.
When the pigments are extracted using ethanol, a violet-red colour is made which can be used to dye silk and wool when rinsed in vinegar.

The colours produced are season-dependent.
The flowers produce a series of four different shades on wool, if used in the correct sequence.

Wool mordanted with alum and unmordanted wool is used.
The flowers are simmered to produce a deep red liquid dye.

The alum-mordanted wool skein is added and simmered until green is made.
If unmordanted wool is added to the same dye, it will turn reddish-maroon.
The final colour produced is by continuing the method, to produce yellow or gold

ROLE AS A HERBIVORE FOOD SOURCE, HYPERICUM PERFORATUM:
Though Hypericum perforatum is generally avoided by mammalian herbivores, a number of insects are dependent on it and its close relatives as a food source.
Chrysolina quadrigemina and C. hyperici are two beetle species that feed on plants from the genus Hypericum, including Hypericum perforatum.

Chrysolina quadrigemina can be colored metallic blue, purple, green, or bronze and is better adapted to warm and dry climates; Chrysolina hyperici is consistently smaller, metallic green, and tends to live in areas with wetter and cooler conditions.

Another Hyericum specialist beetle is Agrilus hyperici, the St John's wort root borer, whose larvae feed on the roots of Hypericum perforatum while the adults feed on the foliage.
A moth, Aplocera plagiata, feeds heavily upon the leaves of Hypericum perforatum as a caterpillar and is commonly known as the common St John's wort inchworm.

As adults, they are a small moth with gray wings and dark gray bands.
Another moth that feeds upon Hypericum perforatum is Euspilapteryx auroguttella.

Their caterpillars start by mining the inside of the leaves and later roll the leaves into cigar shapes to feed in greater safety.
Agonopterix hypericella is another small (17 mm (0.67 in)) gray moth that exclusively feeds upon Hypericum.

Zeuxidiplosis giardi, the common St. Johnswort gall midge, is a small (3 mm (0.12 in)) fly that eats Hypericum perforatum while developing.
The larvae feed upon leaf buds, which causes Hypericum perforatum to form a round growth called a gall where the developing insect can feed, is protected, and pupates into a mature adult.

FUNCTION OF of HYPERICUM PERFORATUM:
Skin conditioning, film-forming, antioxidant, anti-redness, soothing agent; also offers antimicrobial activity in topical formulations
Not permitted for flavor use or fragrance due to regulation; usage limited to skin-contact applications