Ideally, the commercial drug should consist mostly of flowering tops, but in common practice the whole
above-ground plant with a considerable quantity of stem may be present. Flowers that are present should
consist of 70-90% (or more) with immature capsules, otherwise the plants may have been harvested too late
in the season. The hypericin content declines immediately after anthesis (flower maturity and pollination).
The leaves, when observed with a 10X hand lens, should be characterized by many punctate glands, clearly
distinguishable by holding them up to a light source. The flowers will all contain fragments of the persistent
dried petals, which may have red glands (appearing black) around the perimeter.
The taste (and smell) of St. John's wort is characteristicly slightly sweet, bitter, and astringent.
A commercial oil or tincture of Hypericum should be vivid, almost fluorescent red. If the preparation
is pale red to pink, the hypericin content, and thus the quality of the product, is suspect.
Several methods are given in the literature for the TLC and HPLC identification of hypericin (130, 131, 132,
133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138), and Katalin et al (1982) report on the histological examination of St. John's
wort leaves (139).
Since tannins play a role in the therapeutic action of St. John's wort extracts, standardization with this
fraction has been recommended (liquid extract containing 1% tannins) (140).
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constituents, synthesis of hypericin, pharmacology and uses with 127 references (in German)
141.
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Christopher Hobbs is a fourth generation herbalist and botanist with over 30 years experience with herbs. Founder of Native Herb Custom Extracts (now Rainbow Light Custom Extracts) and the Institute for Natural Products 
