Abstract
The presence of antibacterial substances in the plant genus Hypericum has been known for more than 40 years. In 1943, Osborn [10] demonstrated that extracts of a number of Hypericum species were active against Staphylococcus aureus but inactive against Escherichia coli. In the case of Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), Neuwald and Hagenstrøm [9] found the petroleum ether and acetone extracts of the flowering herb and the dry fruits to be active against S. aureus but not against Salmonella typhi and E. coli. Gaind and Ganjoo [5] confirmed their results and obtained evidence of the presence of two compounds exhibiting activity against a number of gram-positive organisms. Such extracts have been used as food preservatives [7], and also to treat infections [6]. One of the active principles of Hypericum, designated hyperforin, was isolated and characterized in 1971 [6]. Recently, its structure and stereochemistry has been revised by Brondz et al. [1,2].
This work was supported by grants from Legatet til Henrik Homans Minde, and from Det Kongelige Sosialdepartements stipendier til farmaceutiske studender.
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References
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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Lingaas, E., Midtvedt, T. (1989). Antibacterial Substance(s) from Hypericum perforatum: Influence on Phagocytosis of Escherichia coli by Human Neutrophils. In: Gillissen, G., Opferkuch, W., Peters, G., Pulverer, G. (eds) The Influence of Antibiotics on the Host-Parasite Relationship III. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73653-7_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73653-7_16
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