Hypocrellin and its analog, hypericin (Figure 1), are naturally occurring quinones that have been used for centuries as folk medicines in the orient and the occident and that have attracted much interest because of their light-induced toxicity toward the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).1The structural similarities of hypocrellin and hypericin would seem to suggest that hypocrellin exhibits e...

The virucidal and antiviral photoactivities of three compounds, hypericin, tetrabromohypericin and gymnochrome B, were evaluated against dengue viruses. All the three products were active, and both the virucidal and antiviral activities were enhanced by light. Gymnochrome B was more potent than hypericin and tetrabromohypericin. The presence of the side chains on the hypericin core of gymnochro...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE St. John's wort is a commonly used herbal medication that increases cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) activity. Because docetaxel is inactivated by CYP3A, we studied the effects of the St. John's wort constituent hyperforin on docetaxel metabolism in a human hepatocyte model. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Hepatocytes, isolated from three donor livers, were exposed to hyperforin (0.1, 0....

The excited-state intramolecular H atom transfer reaction occurring in hypericin and hypocrellin A is investigated by means of the fluorescence upconversion technique in a variety of solvents. Rising components of ∼10 ps, attributable to intramolecular H atom transfer, are clearly observed in the fluorescence upconversion traces of both hypericin and hypocrellin A. The amplitude of the rising c...

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of inherited skin disorders characterized by blistering following mechanical trauma. Chronic wounds of EB patients often lead to tumors such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Early diagnosis may prevent its invasive growth--frequently the reason of premature mortality of EB-patients. Early detection of tumors is achieved by fluorescence diagnosis (FD), wher...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is currently being used as an alternative treatment modality for various types of cancers. PDT involves the selective uptake and retention of a photosensitizer in the tumor followed by light irradiation of an appropriate wavelength to cause the destruction of tumor cells by the formation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. The photosensitizer, hypericin, has shown g...

conclusions considering the strong historical background about the therapeutic potential of the genus hypericum and the considerable cytotoxic and apoptosis induction ability of hypericum scabrum, this species is suggested for future biological studies. results di-chloromethane fraction demonstrated ic50 values of 25.72 μg/ml and 24.73 μg/ml against ht-29 and hepg-2 cell lines, respectively and...

Sensitive chromatographic methods were developed for the quantitative analysis of secondary metabolites in Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) and Rhodiola rosea (Golden root, rose root) extracts. Sample preparation methods were developed for plant, cell culture and biotransformation suspension matrixes. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the separation of analytes, a...