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.