Bagdonaite E., Geszprych A., Labokas J., Przybył J., Rosłon W., Węglarz Z.

Eight accessions of St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) originating from natural sites in Lithuania were investigated ex situ. The content and composition of flavonoids and phenolic acids, as well as the contents of hypericin and pseudohypericin in the herb were determined. The total contents of flavonoids and phenolic acids ranged from 2.42% to 3.10% and from 1.16% to 3.17%, respectively. The dominant flavonoid compounds were rutin, hyperoside and isorhamnetin-3-rutinoside. The presence of two phenolic acids (chlorogenic and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic one) was also stated. The content of hypericin and pseudohypericin ranged from 37.01 to 99.12 mg×100g-1.

Key words: flavonoids, phenolic acids, hypericin, pseudohypericin