Inhibitory effect of St. Johns Wort oil macerates on TNFα-induced NF-κB activation and their fatty acid composition

Ethnopharmacological relevance The oil macerates of Hypericum perforatum L. (St. Johns Wort=SJW) have a long history of medicinal use and SJW has been used in traditional medicine both orally and topically for centuries worldwide mainly for wound healing, ulcer and inflammation. Materials and methods We analyzed the fatty acid composition of 10 traditionally (home-made) and 13 commercially (ready-made) prepared SJW oil macerates by GC-MS. The acid, peroxide, iodine, saponification values, and the unsaponifiable matters of the samples were determined according to the European Pharmacopoeia. We also explored potential mechanism of wound healing effect of the samples, i.e. TNFα-induced NF-κB activation. Results The most home-made oil samples contained oleic acid predominantly and complied with the requirements set for olive oil by European Pharmacopoeia. However, majority of the ready-made samples appeared to have adulteration with some other oils. Moderate NF-κB inhibitory effects have been observed with some of the oil samples. Conclusion This study sheds light on the fact that application of the proper traditional method to prepare olive oil macerates from Hypericum perforatum is able to get bioactive constituents in the oil. Besides, inhibition of TNFα-induced NF-κB activation appears to be a potential mechanism for topical wound healing activity of SJW oil macerates.