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Copyright of Journal of Forestry Society of Croatia / Sumarski List Hrvatskoga Sumarskoga Drustva is the property of Forestry Society of Croatia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra (Guttiferae) has received considerable scientific interest in recent years, as it is a source of a variety of biologically active compounds including phenolics. The present study was conducted to determine the variation in the content of several phenolics, namely phenylpropane chlorogenic acid and flavonoids such as rutin, hyperoside, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol, quercitrin, quercetin and amentoflavone among four H. triquetrifolium populations from the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey. The aerial parts representing a total of 30 shoots were collected at full flowering in each population. After drying at room temperature, they were dissected into floral, leaf and stem tissues and subsequently assayed for phenolic compounds by HPLC. The populations varied significantly in phenolic content. Among different plant parts, the flowers were found to be the principle organ for chlorogenic acid, hyperoside, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol, quercetin and amentoflavone accumulations, while rutin and quercitrin were accumulated mainly in the leaves. The presence of apigenin-7-O-glucoside and amentoflavone in H. triquetrifolium is reported by us for the first time. The chemical variation among the populations and plant parts is discussed as being possibly the result of different genetic, environmental and morphological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypericum perforatum is a perennial medicinal plant known as “St. John's wort” in Western Europe and has been used in the treatment of several diseases for centuries. In the present study, morphologic, phenologic and population variability in pseudohypericin and hyperforin concentrations among H. perforatum populations from Northern Turkey was investigated for the first time. The aerial parts of H. perforatum plants representing a total of 30 individuals were collected at full flowering from 10 sites of Northern Turkey to search the regional variation in the secondary metabolite concentrations. For morphologic and phenologic sampling, plants from one site were gathered in five phenological stages: vegetative, floral budding, full flowering, fresh fruiting and mature fruiting. The plant materials were air-dried at room temperature and subsequently assayed for chemical concentrations by high performance liquid chromatography. Secondary metabolite concentrations ranged from traces to 2.94 mg/g dry weight (DW) for pseudohypericin and traces –6.29 mg/g DW for hyperforin. The differences in the secondary metabolite concentrations among populations of H. perforatum were found to be significant. The populations varied greatly in hyperforin concentrations, whereas they produced a similar amount of pseudohypericin. Concentrations of both secondary metabolites in all tissues increased with advancing of plant development and higher accumulation levels were reached at flowering. Among different tissues, full opened flowers were found to be superior to stems, leaves and the other reproductive parts with regard to pseudohypericin and hyperforin accumulations. The present findings might be useful to optimize the processing methodology of wild-harvested plant material and obtain increased concentrations of these secondary metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]