Hypericum perforatum (flowering tops)

Botanical Voucher Specimen

Source: Botanical Voucher Specimen Library, Alkemists Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com	Source: Botanical Voucher Specimen Library, Alkemists Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com	Source: Botanical Voucher Specimen Library, Alkemists Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com

Macroscopic Descriptions

St John's wort is a perennial plant with extensive, creeping rhizomes. Its stems are erect, branched in the upper section, and can grow to 1 m high. It has opposing, stalkless, narrow, oblong leaves that are 12 mm long or slightly larger. The leaves are yellow-green in color, with transparent dots, which are visible when the leaf is held up to the light, throughout the tissue and occasionally with a few black dots on the lower surface and along the margin. The transparent dots give the leaves a ‘perforated’ appearance, hence the plant's Latin name. Its flowers measure up to 2.5 cm across, have five petals, which are colored bright yellow with conspicuous black dots only along the margin, while the sepals have few or no black dots. The flowers appear in broad cymes at the ends of the upper branches, between late spring and early to mid summer. There are many stamens, which are united at the base into three bundles. Styles are 3, separate to the base. When flower buds (not the flowers themselves) or seed pods are crushed, a reddish/purple liquid is produced. The text above is licensed for use under the Creative Commons ShareAlike License, version 3.0: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Source: Descriptive text includes material derived from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum, retrieved 02/27/2012) as well as original material. Hypericum perforatum growing in the field Source: Roy Upton, American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® http://www.herbal-ahp.org/ Hypericum perforatum flower close-up. Note the black dots on the petals' margin only. Source: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® http://www.herbal-ahp.org/ Hypericum perforatum leaves with the characteristic black dots on the margin and translucent dots on the leaf body. Source: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® http://www.herbal-ahp.org/ Hypericum perforatum stem showing opposite ridges, a defining characteristic of the species. Source: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® http://www.herbal-ahp.org/

Microscopic Characteristics

Oil glands with red pigment and also of importance, a three pored pollen grain that shows smooth and faintly warted exine of Hypericum perforatum. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories Oil glands with red pigment of Hypericum perforatum viewed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com Three pored pollen grain showing smooth and faintly warted exine of Hypericum perforatum viewed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com St. John's Wort, Hyperici herba secretory cell Source: Claudia Borst, PhytoLab http://www.phytolab.com/en.html St. John's Wort, Hyperici herba pollen grain Source: Claudia Borst, PhytoLab http://www.phytolab.com/en.html St. John's Wort, Hyperici herba hypericin gland Source: Claudia Borst, PhytoLab http://www.phytolab.com/en.html St. John's Wort, Hyperici herba tracheidal vessels with pitted walls Source: Claudia Borst, PhytoLab http://www.phytolab.com/en.html

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Identification

Hypericum perforatum HPTLC ID - Natural Product Reagent + PEG UV 365 nm St. John's Wort (herb) (Hypericum perforatum) Lane Assignments Lanes, from left to right (Track, Volume, Sample): 3 μL Hypericin ~ 0.1% in Methanol 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-1 (herb) 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-2 (herb) 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-3 (herb) 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-3 (herb) 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-4 (herb) 3 μL Hypericum perforatum-5 (herb) 1 μL Rutin, Caffeic Acid, Hyperoside, Chlorogenic Acid ~ 0.1% in Methanol Reference materials used here have been authenticated by macroscopic, microscopic &/or TLC studies according to the reference source cited below held at Alkemists Laboratories, Costa Mesa, CA.  Stationary Phase Silica gel 60, F254, 10 x 10 cm HPTLC plates  Mobile Phase ethyl acetate: Acetic acid: HCOOH: H2O [10/1.1/1.1/2.4]  Sample Preparation Method 0.3 g + 3 ml 70% grain EtOH sonicated + heated @ 50° C ~ 1 hr  Detection Method Natural Product Reagent + PEG -> UV 365 nm  Reference see British Pharmacopoeia, 2003 Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories