Standardization of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) oil

Hypericum perforatum L. (Hypericaceae) is one of the most important medicinal plants used for therapeutic purposes in many parts of the world. This species, which grows naturally in our country, is locally known as binbirdelik otu, kan otu, kılıç otu, mayasıl otu, yara otu and kuzu kıran. Especially because of its wound healing properties, the use of oil obtained from the plant by maceration method is quite common. In oil maceration traditionally, the flowering branches of the plant are kept in glass containers filled with olive oil for 45 days in direct sunlight. The effective compounds of this oil, its stability, composition varying according to the method and oil used, and its characteristic ruby red color are still being investigated and conflicting results have been reached in the literature. In our study, St. John's Wort flowers were extracted using two different methods, from 8 different cold-pressed oil (safflower, sunflower, walnut, canola, flax, sesame, sweet almond and olive). The most common method among the people in the summer, the flowers were left to maceration in glass jars under sunlight for 45 days and in the same oils, digestion of the flowers was carried out in a warm water bath for 2 hours. The red color intensity of the samples obtained, the amount of hyperforin in the maserates and the antimicrobial effects of the oils against skin pathogens were investigated colorimetrically. The effects are compared.