the pharmacology of “St. John’s herb” (St. John’s wort – Hypericum perforatum)
AUTHORS : Barnaulov O.D. | Bekhtereva N.P.
RELEVANT UNIVERSITIES : Institute of the Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg
YEAR : 2016
SUMMARY The antidestructive, gastroprotective activity of the extracts of St. John’s wort and St. John’s wort tetrahedral was compared with the activity of dealcoholized tincture of ginseng. The drugs were administered enterally preventively for 7 days. Methods of ligation of the pylorus in rats, immobilization or reserpinization of mice were used. In all 3 models, St. John’s wort infusions showed distinct antidestructive activity, comparable to the more active ginseng. These results indicate the ability of St. John’s wort preparations to cause a state of nonspecifically increased resistance (SNPS) of the body, to exhibit antidestructive activity. For SNPS, limitation of the volume and severity of lesions is characteristic. The legitimacy of the widespread use of St. John’s wort in folk
and traditional medicine as a preventive measure has been experimentally confirmed.
