The content of polyphenols and the antioxidant activity of extractsfrom Hyperici herba depending on the place of harvest

Abstract

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum, Hypericaceae) is a ruderal plant commonly found in Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and in the north of Africa on dry, sunny meadows, elds and in bright forests. In Poland it is common throughout the area. e main ingredients are avonoids (rutoside, quercitin, isoquercetin), naphthodianthrones (hypericin, pseudohypericin), phloro-glucinol derivatives (hyperforin). St. John’s wort is a medicinal plant known since antiquity and widely used thanks to its biological properties. Currently, herbal infusions are used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, while the ethanolic extracts containing hypericin and hyperforin inuence the central nervous system and act as an auxiliary in the treatment of moderate states of depression. Already in the days of Paracelsus (1493–1541) St. John’s wort was used in neurological and psychiatric diseases such as neuralgia, anxiety, and depression. Currently, the plant, aer years of oblivion, regains its lost position as a valuable healing agent. e aim of the research was to determine the prole of active compounds and to compare the composition of the herb Hyperici herba depending on the place of harvest. e analysis of the raw material collected from two natural sites has not shown that the place of harvest has a signicant impact on the prole of active compounds.