Home > Herbs > Hypericum Perforatum

Common St. John's wort

Hypericum perforatum · Accepted scientific name

Scientific literature: Very Extensive (2497 studies) · ★★★★★

Common St. John's wort, scientifically known as Hypericum perforatum, is a perennial flowering plant renowned for its medicinal properties. Primarily utilized in herbal medicine to alleviate mild-to-moderate depression, it contains bioactive compounds like hypericin. This versatile herb is widely studied for its therapeutic potential in supporting mental well-being.

Family
Hypericaceae
Native range
Europe
Parts used
Flower · Leaf
Common names
Klamath Weed · Common St. John'S-Wort · 17 more
Scientific synonyms
Not available

Names

Common Names

Regional and Traditional Names

Spanish:

  • Hipericón llamado corazoncillo
  • Hierba militar
  • Pericon común
  • St John's wort
  • Corazón de ciervo
  • Hipericón llamado yerba de San Juan
  • Hipericon llamado yerba de San Juan
  • Hipericon llamado corazoncillo
  • Hypericum noeanum
  • Hypericum pseudoperforatum
  • Hipericón oficinal
  • Hipérico común
  • Hiperico común
  • Te borde
  • Perforata
  • Hipericon
  • Pericon comun
  • Corazon de ciervo
  • Hipericon oficinal
  • Hiperico comun
  • San Juan
  • hierba de San Juan
  • pericón
  • hierba de las heridas
  • perico
  • sanjuanines
  • cientoenrama
  • corazoncillo
  • corión
  • amnica
  • trescalar
  • tresflorina
  • yerba de San Juan
  • yerbuca de San Juan
  • perforada
  • pericó
  • pericón amarillo
  • pericón común
  • pericón silvestre
  • pericote
  • periquito
  • san juanes
  • sanjuanera
  • sanjuanes
  • té borde
  • espantadiablos
  • hierba de la sangre
  • hierba de las machacauras
  • hierba del agua
  • hipérico
  • hipérico horadado
  • hipericón
  • Hierba de San Juan

German:

  • Echtes Johanniskraut
  • Teufelsflucht
  • Johannisblut
  • Echt-Johanniskraut
  • Konradskraut
  • Tüpfelhartheu
  • Echtes Tüpfel-Hartheu
  • Jarsin
  • Blutkraut
  • Tüpfel-Johanniskraut
  • Walpurgiskraut
  • Johanniskrautöl
  • Echtes Tüpfel-Johanniskraut
  • Tüpfel-Hartheu
  • Wundskraut
  • Elfenblut
  • Tüpfeljohanniskraut
  • Gemeines Johanniskraut
  • Tüpfel-Hartheu
  • Tüpfel-Johanniskraut
  • Echtes Johanniskraut

French:

  • Millepertuis officinal
  • Millepertuis perfore
  • millepertuis commun
  • Millepertuis perforé
  • millepertuis commun
  • millepertuis perforé
  • Millepertuis perfore
  • Herbe de la Saint-Jean
  • Millepertuis officinal
  • herbe aux cent trous

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Hypericum perforatum

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, known scientifically as Hypericum perforatum, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. Within the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae, it is categorized under the order Malpighiales and the family Hypericaceae. Finally, its taxonomic classification is completed by its placement within the genus Hypericum.

Rank Classification Source
Kingdom Plantae WCVP
Phylum Streptophyta WCVP
Class Equisetopsida WCVP
Subclass Magnoliidae WCVP
Order Malpighiales WCVP
Family Hypericaceae WCVP
Genus Hypericum WCVP

Distribution

This plant, known as Hypericum perforatum, is widely distributed across various regions of Northern Europe. It can be found growing naturally throughout the landscape of Denmark. The species also thrives in the northern territories of Finland and Norway. Additionally, its presence is well-documented across the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Together, these locations represent a significant portion of its northern geographical range.

Region Area Source
Northern Europe Denmark WCVP
Northern Europe Finland WCVP
Northern Europe Great Britain WCVP
Northern Europe Ireland WCVP
Northern Europe Norway WCVP
Northern Europe Sweden WCVP
Middle Europe Austria WCVP
Middle Europe Belgium WCVP
Middle Europe Czechia-Slovakia WCVP
Middle Europe Germany WCVP

Plant Parts

This plant, commonly known as St. John's Wort, is a perennial herb characterized by its diverse and pharmacologically active components. The aerial parts of the specimen, which include the stems and foliage, are frequently harvested for medicinal preparation. The bright yellow flowers are perhaps the most iconic feature, containing high concentrations of hypericin, while the dark, translucent-dotted leaves also contribute significantly to the plant's chemical profile. Although much of the therapeutic focus remains on the upper growth, the roots also contain bioactive compounds that support the plant's overall medicinal potency.
Plant Part Sources Consensus
flower Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) (and other 16 sources) ★★★★★
leaf Journal of chromatography. A (and other 12 sources) ★★★★★
root Journal of biotechnology (and other 6 sources) ★★★☆☆
fruit Planta medica (and other 2 sources) ★☆☆☆☆
stem Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences (and other 1 sources) ★☆☆☆☆

Chemicals

Hypericum perforatum has 328 reported phytochemicals identified across 37 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include hypericin, hyperforin, Flavonoids, pseudohypericin, quercetin.

Chemicals reported in Hypericum perforatum
Chemical Supporting sources Consensus
hypericin 84 supporting sources ★★★★★
hyperforin 76 supporting sources ★★★★★
Flavonoids 35 supporting sources ★★★★★
pseudohypericin 25 supporting sources ★★★★★
quercetin 21 supporting sources ★★★★★
RUTIN 20 supporting sources ★★★★★
Hyperoside 16 supporting sources ★★★★★
CHLOROGENIC ACID 13 supporting sources ★★★★★
Amentoflavone 10 supporting sources ★★★★★
Isoquercitrin 10 supporting sources ★★★★★

hypericin

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Ceska a Slovenska farmacie : casopis Ceske farmaceuticke spolecnosti a Slovenske farmaceuticke spolecnosti
  3. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology
  4. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  5. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
View 79 additional sources
  1. Annales pharmaceutiques francaises
  2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
  4. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
  5. Pharmacopsychiatry
  6. The Annals of pharmacotherapy
  7. The Journal of clinical psychiatry
  8. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  9. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  10. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
  11. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  12. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
  13. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
  14. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
  15. Life sciences
  16. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
  17. Genes
  18. Current opinion in plant biology
  19. Phytochemistry
  20. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
  21. Yao xue xue bao = Acta pharmaceutica Sinica
  22. Frontiers in plant science
  23. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
  24. Biochemical pharmacology
  25. Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
  26. Pharmaceutica acta Helvetiae
  27. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
  28. Functional plant biology : FPB
  29. PeerJ
  30. Plant methods
  31. Planta medica
  32. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  33. Journal of natural products
  34. Psychopharmacology
  35. Praxis
  36. Annals of botany
  37. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  38. Photochemistry and photobiology
  39. Applied biochemistry and biotechnology
  40. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
  41. L'Encephale
  42. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM
  43. ACS applied materials & interfaces
  44. Journal of structural biology
  45. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
  46. Drug safety
  47. Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan
  48. Journal of pineal research
  49. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  50. The British journal of dermatology
  51. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials
  52. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (Washington, D.C. : 1996)
  53. European journal of pain (London, England)
  54. Phytochemical analysis : PCA
  55. Avicenna journal of medical biotechnology
  56. Scientific reports
  57. Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin
  58. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
  59. Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications
  60. Pharmaceutical biology
  61. Drug and chemical toxicology
  62. Mycorrhiza
  63. Cells
  64. Australian veterinary journal
  65. CNS drugs
  66. Future science OA
  67. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  68. International journal of biological macromolecules
  69. The Journal of endocrinology
  70. Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic
  71. Applied microbiology and biotechnology
  72. PloS one
  73. BMC plant biology
  74. ACS omega
  75. Journal of AOAC International
  76. Molecular biotechnology
  77. Fitoterapia
  78. Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine
  79. Molecular psychiatry

hyperforin

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Brain research
  3. Journal of biotechnology
  4. Ceska a Slovenska farmacie : casopis Ceske farmaceuticke spolecnosti a Slovenske farmaceuticke spolecnosti
  5. Journal of ethnopharmacology
View 71 additional sources
  1. Phytochemistry
  2. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  3. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
  4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
  5. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
  6. Journal of immunotoxicology
  7. Pharmacopsychiatry
  8. European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V
  9. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  10. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
  11. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
  12. Life sciences
  13. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  14. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
  15. Genes
  16. Current opinion in plant biology
  17. Journal of natural products
  18. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
  19. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
  20. Biochemical pharmacology
  21. Journal of pharmacological sciences
  22. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
  23. Functional plant biology : FPB
  24. PeerJ
  25. Planta medica
  26. Journal of neurochemistry
  27. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  28. Psychopharmacology
  29. Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
  30. Annals of botany
  31. Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology
  32. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  33. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  34. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
  35. L'Encephale
  36. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM
  37. ACS applied materials & interfaces
  38. Praxis
  39. Drug metabolism reviews
  40. British journal of pharmacology
  41. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
  42. Drug safety
  43. Xenobiotica; the fate of foreign compounds in biological systems
  44. Journal of pineal research
  45. Nature communications
  46. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  47. The British journal of dermatology
  48. Journal of integrative plant biology
  49. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (Washington, D.C. : 1996)
  50. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
  51. European journal of clinical pharmacology
  52. Scientific reports
  53. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  54. Trends in pharmacological sciences
  55. Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology
  56. Pharmaceutical biology
  57. Drug and chemical toxicology
  58. Mycorrhiza
  59. Cells
  60. Molecular pharmaceutics
  61. International journal of molecular sciences
  62. CNS drugs
  63. Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications
  64. Current cancer drug targets
  65. Neuroscience letters
  66. The Journal of endocrinology
  67. ACS omega
  68. Journal of AOAC International
  69. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology
  70. Photochemistry and photobiology
  71. BMC plant biology

Flavonoids

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine
  3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
  4. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
  5. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
View 30 additional sources
  1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  2. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
  3. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  4. Frontiers in plant science
  5. Current opinion in plant biology
  6. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  7. Free radical biology & medicine
  8. Nitric oxide : biology and chemistry
  9. Shock (Augusta, Ga.)
  10. Planta medica
  11. Journal of chromatography. A
  12. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  13. Applied biochemistry and biotechnology
  14. Drug development and industrial pharmacy
  15. ACS applied materials & interfaces
  16. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM
  17. European journal of pain (London, England)
  18. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  19. Pharmacopsychiatry
  20. CNS drugs
  21. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  22. International journal of biological macromolecules
  23. Electrophoresis
  24. Recenti progressi in medicina
  25. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
  26. Current pharmaceutical design
  27. BMC complementary medicine and therapies
  28. Molecular biotechnology
  29. Biochemical pharmacology
  30. Phytochemistry

pseudohypericin

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  3. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  4. Annales pharmaceutiques francaises
  5. Phytochemistry
View 20 additional sources
  1. Planta medica
  2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  3. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM
  4. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  5. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  6. Journal of integrative plant biology
  7. Phytochemical analysis : PCA
  8. Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications
  9. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  10. Pharmaceutical biology
  11. Mycorrhiza
  12. International journal of biological macromolecules
  13. Applied microbiology and biotechnology
  14. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology
  15. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
  16. Journal of AOAC International
  17. Fitoterapia
  18. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
  19. Photochemistry and photobiology
  20. Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior

quercetin

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  3. Journal of chromatography. A
  4. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
  5. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
View 16 additional sources
  1. Scientific reports
  2. Pharmaceutica acta Helvetiae
  3. Planta medica
  4. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  5. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  6. Yao xue xue bao = Acta pharmaceutica Sinica
  7. Applied biochemistry and biotechnology
  8. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  9. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  10. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  11. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  12. Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy
  13. ACS omega
  14. Life sciences
  15. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
  16. Biotechnic & histochemistry : official publication of the Biological Stain Commission

RUTIN

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Annales pharmaceutiques francaises
  3. Journal of chromatography. A
  4. Talanta
  5. Journal of chromatographic science
View 15 additional sources
  1. Scientific reports
  2. Pharmaceutica acta Helvetiae
  3. Planta medica
  4. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  5. Yao xue xue bao = Acta pharmaceutica Sinica
  6. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  7. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  8. Phytotherapy research : PTR
  9. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  10. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  11. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  12. Food science and biotechnology
  13. ACS omega
  14. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
  15. Journal of biomolecular structure & dynamics

Hyperoside

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Annales pharmaceutiques francaises
  3. Journal of chromatography. A
  4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  5. Talanta
View 11 additional sources
  1. Pharmaceutica acta Helvetiae
  2. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
  3. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  4. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
  5. Planta medica
  6. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  7. Acta poloniae pharmaceutica
  8. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  9. TheScientificWorldJournal
  10. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  11. ACS omega

CHLOROGENIC ACID

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  3. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
  4. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
  5. Journal of chromatographic science
View 8 additional sources
  1. Scientific reports
  2. Journal of chromatography. A
  3. Applied biochemistry and biotechnology
  4. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
  5. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
  6. Food science and biotechnology
  7. ACS omega
  8. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Amentoflavone

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
  3. Pharmaceutica acta Helvetiae
  4. Planta medica
  5. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry
View 5 additional sources
  1. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  2. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  3. Avicenna journal of medical biotechnology
  4. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters
  5. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry

Isoquercitrin

  1. Dr. Duke
  2. Annales pharmaceutiques francaises
  3. Journal of chromatography. A
  4. Journal of chromatographic science
  5. Scientific reports
View 5 additional sources
  1. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
  2. The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
  3. Planta medica
  4. Medicinal and aromatic plant science and biotechnology
  5. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry

Activities

Hypericum perforatum has 649 reported activities identified across 37 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antidepressant, Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Antiviral, Analgesic.

Most Reported Activities

Activity Sources Consensus
Antidepressant Dr. Duke (and other 52 sources) ★★★★★
Antioxidant Dr. Duke (and other 19 sources) ★★★★★
Antibacterial Dr. Duke (and other 14 sources) ★★★★★
Antiviral Dr. Duke (and other 12 sources) ★★★★★
Analgesic Dr. Duke (and other 8 sources) ★★★★☆
Antimicrobial Ceska a Slovenska farmacie : casopis Ceske farmaceuticke spolecnosti a Slovenske farmaceuticke spolecnosti (and other 8 sources) ★★★★☆
Anticancer Dr. Duke (and other 5 sources) ★★★☆☆
Antitumor Dr. Duke (and other 5 sources) ★★★☆☆
Anxiolytic Dr. Duke (and other 4 sources) ★★☆☆☆
Neuroprotective Dr. Duke (and other 4 sources) ★★☆☆☆

Medicinal Uses

Hypericum perforatum has 199 reported medicinal uses identified across 37 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported uses include depression, antidepressant, anxiety, burns, wound healing.

Most Reported Uses

Use Sources Consensus
depression Psychiatria polska (and other 88 sources) ★★★★★
antidepressant Journal of ethnopharmacology (and other 34 sources) ★★★★★
anxiety Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) (and other 16 sources) ★★★★★
burns Brain and behavior (and other 11 sources) ★★★★★
wound healing Journal of agricultural and food chemistry (and other 11 sources) ★★★★★
inflammation Toxics (and other 10 sources) ★★★★★
oxidative stress Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) (and other 8 sources) ★★★★☆
wounds Infectious disorders drug targets (and other 8 sources) ★★★★☆
Alzheimer's disease Journal of ethnopharmacology (and other 5 sources) ★★★☆☆
antiviral Journal of ethnopharmacology (and other 5 sources) ★★★☆☆

Preparations

Preparations Sources Consensus
extract Pharmacopsychiatry (and other 11 sources) ★★★★★
extracts Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology (and other 11 sources) ★★★★★
methanolic extracts Journal of biotechnology (and other 6 sources) ★★★☆☆
H. perforatum extract Free radical biology & medicine (and other 4 sources) ★★☆☆☆
Hypericum perforatum extract Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM (and other 3 sources) ★★☆☆☆
hydroalcoholic extracts Roumanian archives of microbiology and immunology (and other 3 sources) ★★☆☆☆
CO2 extract Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) (and other 2 sources) ★☆☆☆☆
Jarsin dried extract Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) (and other 2 sources) ★☆☆☆☆
callus extract Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) (and other 2 sources) ★☆☆☆☆
hypericum extract Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology (and other 2 sources) ★☆☆☆☆