A chemo-pharmacological study of Hypericum perforatum L.

Abstract

Arthritis was produced in adult albino rats weighing 120±10 g through intramuscular injections of 0.5 ml of 2% w/w formalin beneath the plantar aponeurosis on the first and third day. The anterioposterior diameter of the ankle was recorded and statistically analyzed. It was evident that relatively low doses, 0.25 ml/100 g body weight, of tincture of Hypericum perforatum produced a significant 48% anti-inflammatory effect, whereas higher doses, 0.5 ml/100 g body weight, of the drug showed 32% activity under identical conditions. Parallel studies with 1 mg/100 g body weight hydrocortisone administration gave similar anti-inflammatory effects.

Local application of an alcoholic extract of the drug in very small doses also produced significant skin softness and flexibility of muscle.