Evaluation of therapeutic potential of Hypericum species from the Himalaya

ABSTRACT

The antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiabetic potential of Himalayan Hypericum species (H. cordifolium, H. elodeoides, H. japonicum, H. podocarpoides, and H. uralum) were examined. The antioxidant activity measured by DPPH radical scavenging assay was the highest for the methanolic extracts of H. cordifolium and the lowest for H. japonicum. The antibacterial activity of methanolic extracts of Hypericum species showed weak or no antibacterial activity against four ATCC bacterial strains compared to standard gentamicin. The inhibition for of α-amylase by plant extracts in all the species was lower than that of Acarbose. In contrast, the inhibition of α-glucosidase by the plant extracts was higher than that of Acarbose for all the species except H. podocarpoides.

KEYWORDS:

• Activity assay
• Hypericum
• methanol extract
• Nepal

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to University Grants Commission (UGC-Nepal) for providing Thesis Preparation Support Award to Ms Shreejana Raut. Similarly, the authors are thankful to Mr Kalyan Shrestha, Mr Satyam Thakur, Mr Yadu Nath Poudel, and Ms Sunita Shrestha for their help in the collection of plant samples. The support of National Herbarium Nepal (KATH) for access to herbarium of Hypericum species, and that of the Department of Plant Resources, Thapathali, for permission to collect plant samples from the wild is highly acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research work was supported by Master’s Thesis Preparation Support Award 2072/73 (Masters/TS/S&T-35) from the University Grants Commission, Nepal, to Ms Shreejana Raut.