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Hypericum sp.: essential oil composition and biological activities

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Abstract

Phytochemical composition of Hypericum genus has been investigated for many years. In the recent past, studies on the essential oils (EO) of this genus have been progressing and many of them have reported interesting biological activities. Variations in the EO composition of Hypericum species influenced by seasonal variation, geographic distribution, phenological cycle and type of the organ in which EO are produced and/or accumulated have also been reported. Although many reviews attributed to the characterization as well as biological activities of H. perforatum crude extracts have been published, no review has been published on the EO composition and biological activities of Hypericum species until recently (Crockett in Nat Prod Commun 5(9):1493–1506, 2010; Bertoli et al. in Global Sci Books 5:29–47, 2011). In this article, we summarize and update information regarding the composition and biological activities of Hypericum species EO. Based on experimental work carried out in our laboratory we also mention possible biotechnology approaches envisaging EO improvement of some species of the genus.

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by EU (FSE/FEDER) and Portuguese Government (FCT) through the Project PTDC/AGR-AAM/70418/2006 and the Grant SFRH/BD/13283/2003. G. Franklin is supported by Ciencia2007 program contract from Portuguese Government.

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  1. CITAB, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Ana P. Guedes, G. Franklin & Manuel Fernandes-Ferreira

  2. Department of Biology, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Ana P. Guedes & G. Franklin

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, FC4, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal

    Manuel Fernandes-Ferreira

  4. Mapprod Lda., Rua António de Mariz, 22, 4715-279, Braga, Portugal

    Manuel Fernandes-Ferreira

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  1. Ana P. Guedes
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Correspondence to Manuel Fernandes-Ferreira.

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Guedes, A.P., Franklin, G. & Fernandes-Ferreira, M. Hypericum sp.: essential oil composition and biological activities. Phytochem Rev 11, 127–152 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-012-9223-y

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