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.