COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BIOCHEMICAL CONTENT, ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF HYPERICUM PERFORATUM L. SPECIES IS GROWN IN TÜRKİYE

Many external factors, such as climatic conditions, geographical differences, and altitude, directly affect the primary and secondary metabolites and therapeutic use of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), an important plant in alternative medicine. This study was carried out to identify the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and the content of proline, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and total phenolic in the St. John's Wort growing naturally in different regions of Bayburt. The St. John's Wort samples were collected from 11 different locations. As a result of the analyses carried out on the plant samples, it was found that the content of proline was within the range of 4.6-8.2 µmol g-1 DW, the amount of malondialdehyde was within the range of 0.69-1.10 nmol g-1 DW, the amount of hydrogen peroxide was within the range of 79.89-155.49 µmol g-1 DW, the amount of flavonoids was within the range of 91.38%-100.27%, the amount of anthocyanin was within the range of 0.15-1.11 mkmol g-1 DW, the total phenolic content was within the range of 15.82-45.22 mg GAE g-1, and the antioxidant activity was within the range of 6.07-105.60 µg mL-1. In conclusion, although the biochemical contents and nonenzymatic antioxidant activities showed a wide variety, the antioxidant activity was found to be higher in samples 5, 8, and 11. According to the antimicrobial activity results, some plant extracts were effective on bacteria and fungi, especially samples 5, 6, 8, and 11 showed an effect at the concentration of 200 μg mL-1. This study, the first regional study on this subject, will contribute to future research and clinical trials in the health field.