Genetic diversity and relationships among Hypericum L. species by ISSR Markers: A high value medicinal plant from Northern of Iran

Hypericum L. species are generally known locally in Iran with the names “Hofariqun” which Ebn Sina (or Bo Ali Sina) called it. Plants of the genus Hypericum have traditionally been used as medicinal plants in various parts of the world. Hypericum perforatum L. is the source to one of the most manufactured and used herbal preparations in recent years, especially as a mild antidepressant. Therefore, due to the importance of these plant species, we performed a molecular data for this species. For this study, we used 175 randomly collected plants from 17 species in 9 provinces. Amplification of genomic DNA using 10 primers produced 141 bands, of which 127 were polymorphic (95.78%). The obtained high average PIC and MI values revealed high capacity of ISSR primers to detect polymorphic loci among Hypericum species. The genetic similarities of 17 collections were estimated from 0.617 to 0.911. According to Inter-Simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers analysis, H. androsaemum and H. hirtellum had the lowest similarity and the species of H. perforaturm and H. triquetrifolium had the highest similarity. The aims of present study are: 1) can ISSR markers identify Hypericum species, 2) what is the genetic structure of these taxa in Iran, and 3) to investigate the species inter-relationship? The present study revealed that ISSR markers can identify the species.

Wound Healing Effects from 3 Hypericum spp. Essential Oils

Hypericum species have a long-term use as wound healing agents, with the most common preparation being the infused oil from the aerial parts. It contains naphthodianthrones, phloroglucinols, and essential oil. An extensive literature survey shows that, unlike napthodianthrones and phloroglucinols, essential oils from Hypericum spp. have not yet been evaluated for their wound healing efficacy. The present study aims to assess the wound healing efficacy of essential oils from H. perforatum, a plant recognized in European Pharmacopoeia for having wound healing properties, as well from 2 other Hypericum species commonly used in Greece as wound healing agents since classical antiquity, namely, H. empetrifolium and H. triquetrifolium. So far, only the wound healing effects of Hypericum oil are known, which is a different herbal preparation containing nonvolatile compounds, while the essential oils under investigation contain only volatile constituents. The essential oils were subjected to GC-MS analyses. Wounds were created on the upper back of hairless SKH-hr1 mice. Healing was evaluated by clinical, histopathological, and biophysical assessment. The essential oils showed a significantly faster wound healing rate in comparison to the controls and the vehicle-treated groups. H. empetrifolium possessed the most significant healing properties while for H. perforatum and H. triquetrifolium skin inflammation persisted. The essential oils from Hypericum spp. showed promising results as wound healing agents and are likely to contribute to the wound healing efficacy of the Hypericum preparations. H. empetrifolium, being the most potent anti-inflammatory and wound healing agent, confirms the traditional use of this plant in Greece for wounds and skin inflammations.

Ethnopharmacology, pharmacological activities, and chemistry of the Hypericum genus

There are over 500 species in the Hypericum genus worldwide. Crude extracts from Hypericum species have been reported in folkloric medicine as analgesics, anthelmintics, astringents, antidepressants, diuretics, and anti-inflammatories. The current review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of local uses, pharmacological activities, and phytochemical composition of different extracts generated from Hypericum species. The review data was collected via literature search from Google, Google Scholar, Medline, Pubmed, Mendeley, Science Direct, Chemical Abstracts, Web of Science, and Scopus. The most studied of the entire Hypericum genus is H. perforatum, approved to manage mild depression. Other species that have been reported to have ethnomedicinal value are H. erectum, H. monogynum, H. attenuatum, H. japonicum, H. beanii, H. monantheum, H. wightianum, H. scabrum, H. monogynum, H. monogynum, H. geminiflorum, H. ascyron, H. seniawinii, H. elodeoides, H. petiolulatum, H. wightianum, H. hengshanense, H. japonicum, and H. revolutum. Over 900 phytochemicals have been isolated from the Hypericum genus plant species, mostly phenolics, and terpenoids. Studies have been carried out to validate the ethnopharmacological use of extracts from Hypericum species against depression, cancer, inflammation, and microbial infections. There are limited safety studies involving medicinal plants from the Hypericum genus; however,further investigations on toxic effects, phytochemical composition, and biological activities are necessary to validate the medicinal uses of plant species of the Hypericum genus empirically. The present article reviews ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and toxicology of the Hypericum genus, which several communities have used to treat various conditions.

Molecular identification and genetic diversity in Hypericum L.: A high value medicinal plant using RAPD markers markers

Genus Hypericum (Guttiferae, Hypericoideae) is perennial, belonging to the Hypericaceae family, having 484 species in forms of trees, shrubs, and herbs, distributed in 36 taxonomic sections. No detailed Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) studies were conducted to study Hypericum genetic diversity. Therefore, we collected and analyzed six species from five provinces of Iran regions. Overall, seventy plant specimens were collected. Our aims were 1) to assess genetic diversity among Hypericum species 2) is there a correlation between species genetic and geographical distance? 3) Genetic structure of populations and taxa. We showed significant differences in quantitative morphological characters in plant species. H. dogonbadanicum depicted unbiased expected heterozygosity (UHe) in the range of 0.10. Shannon information was high (0.32) in H. perforaturm. H. dogonbadanicum showed the lowest value, 0.17. The observed number of alleles (Na) ranged from 0.22 to 0.53 in H. dogonbadanicum and H. elongaturn. Gene flow (Nm) was relatively low (0.87) in Hypericum. The Mantel test showed correlation (r = 0.45, p=0.0001) between genetic and geographical distances. We reported high genetic diversity, which clearly shows the Hypericum species can adapt to changing environments since high genetic diversity is linked to species adaptability. Present results highlighted the utility of RAPD markers and morphometry methods to investigate genetic diversity in Hypericum species.

Insecticidal effect of from three Hypericum species extracts against Rhyzopertha dominica, Sitophilus oryzae and Tribolium confusum

ABSTRACT The search for new plant natural products with insecticidal properties to control insect pests in agriculture has gained relevance in the past decades. The aim of the study was to investigate the insecticidal activity of extracts derived from flower, leaf, and stem of three Hypericum species (Hypericum heterophyllum, Hypericum perforatum, Hypericum scabrum) against the adults of three important stored grain insect pests namely; Sitophilus oryzae (Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (Bostrichidae) and Tribolium confusum (Tenebrionidae). The insects were incubated with the food under 10% concentration of Hypericum extracts and the mortality was recorded after 24, 48 and 72 h of exposure. The extracts of the Hypericum species and exposure time were found to have statistically significant effective against the three insect pests. After 72 h exposure, the mortality ranged from 4.3 to 94.1 % for all insects. Among tested insects, R. dominica was more susceptible than T. confusum and S. oryzae. Although desirable insecticidal effect against the insects were recorded from all the three Hypericum species, the leaf extract of H. perforatum was more effective on R. dominica, while the flower and stem of H. scabrum displayed high toxic effect on T. confusum and S. oryzae, respectively. The leaf extracts, of H. perforatum, in particular, may be used as source of new potential botanical insecticides against R. dominica in stored grains.

Antiproliferative Effects of St. John’s Wort, Its Derivatives, and Other Hypericum Species in Hematologic Malignancies

Hypericum is a widely present plant, and extracts of its leaves, flowers, and aerial elements have been employed for many years as therapeutic cures for depression, skin wounds, and respiratory and inflammatory disorders. Hypericum also displays an ample variety of other biological actions, such as hypotensive, analgesic, anti-infective, anti-oxidant, and spasmolytic abilities. However, recent investigations highlighted that this species could be advantageous for the cure of other pathological situations, such as trigeminal neuralgia, as well as in the treatment of cancer. This review focuses on the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), its derivatives, and other Hypericum species in hematologic malignancies. Hypericum induces apoptosis in both myeloid and lymphoid cells. Other Hypericum targets include matrix metalloproteinase-2, vascular endothelial growth factor, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, which are mediators of cell migration and angiogenesis. Hypericum also downregulates the expression of proteins that are involved in the resistance of leukemia cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Finally, Hypericum and its derivatives appear to have photodynamic effects and are candidates for applications in tumor photodynamic therapy. Although the in vitro studies appear promising, controlled in vivo studies are necessary before we can hypothesize the introduction of Hypericum and its derivatives into clinical practice for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.