Abstract
Objective: In our country, herbal drugs used for medical purposes by the folk are generally purchased from the herbal stores. The quality and reliability of the plants sold in the herbal stores have been discussed for many years. The present study aims to investigate samples of Hypericum perforatum, which is one of the important medicinal plants and widely used by the folk.
Material and Method: The drugs sold as “St John’s Wort” were purchased from 12 different herbal stores which were randomly chosen in Istanbul. Quality control of the collected part and collection time of the plant were examined by using macroscopic and microscopic methods. The suitability of the plant storage conditions were investigated by microbiological test. The ash and moisture contents, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), mineral and heavy metal levels of the plant were determined. Hypericin contents of the methanol extracts prepared from the plant samples were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
Result and Discussion: In this study, it was determined that most of the samples were contaminated by impurities, 6 of them did not contain hypericin, and 2 of them contained high levels of aluminium (Al). As a result, it was once again understood that it might be inconvenient to sell the medicinal plants in the herbal stores unless inspected for public health. Sale of the medicinal plants in herbal stores should be prevented, and it should be ensured that the public can reach the high quality medicinal plants.