St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum L.: Supercritical extraction, antimicrobial and antidepressant activity of extract and some component

St. John's Wort, the Hypericum perforatum L. is one of the most analyzed plant species today. Plant was characterized with a wide ecological spectrum and is a plant with beautiful yellow flowers. St. John's Wort was used and still is in used in traditional medicine all over the World. Many bioactive components from St. John's Wort like hypericine, hyperforine, qercetrine and essential oil, were isolated and have been used in medicine. The most popular use of Hipericum extract is as an antidepressant for the medicinal treatment of mild and high depression. The medical use of hyperforine in photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment has now been intensively analyzed. The extract of St. John's Wort showed high antimicrobial, even on pathogenic microorganisms as well as antiviral activity. The use of bioactive components from St. John's Wort depends on the possibility to isolate them in the pure state. It seems that supercritical extraction with carbon dioxide might to be the best solution for obtaining pure extract as well as some of the components present in the essential oil and extract of St. John's Wort. Such a conclusion is supported by the many results of recently performed and published in scientific journals.