Department of Biological Engineering, Utah State University, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-4105, USA.
Phytother Res. 2012 Sep;26(9):1327-33. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3716. Epub 2012 Feb 1.
A persistent need exists for effective treatment agents for mycobacterial infections. This research investigated the effectiveness of the Hypericum perforatum herb (commonly known as St John's wort; SJW) in its growth inhibition of mycobacteria. A SJW extract was effective at inhibiting five nonpathogenic Mycobacterium isolates and Bacillus subtilis, but not Escherichia coli. Quantitative studies of concentration sensitivity to the SJW extract were performed with minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) ranging from 0.33 to 2.66 mg extract/mL. The SJW compounds hyperforin (Hfn), hypericin (Hpn), and pseudohypericin (Phn) were quantified in the extract using HPLC. The SJW extract solution of 133 mg extract/mL used in this study contained 2.3 mg Hfn/mL, 0.8 mg Hpn/mL, and 2.1 mg Phn/mL. Purified Hfn, Hpn, and Phn were tested for inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium JLS (M. JLS) at similar concentrations used in the crude extract. While Hfn was inhibitory at 46 µg/mL, none of the purified SJW constituents were bactericidal at concentrations corresponding to SJW treatments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of SJW-treated M. JLS cells showed changes in cell surface morphology.
目前，人们一直需要有效的抗分枝杆菌感染治疗药物。本研究旨在探究贯叶金丝桃（俗称圣约翰草；SJW）提取物对分枝杆菌生长的抑制作用。SJW 提取物对五种非致病性分枝杆菌分离株和枯草芽孢杆菌有效，但对大肠杆菌无效。采用最低杀菌浓度（MBC）法对 SJW 提取物的浓度敏感性进行定量研究，结果表明 SJW 提取物的 MBC 范围为 0.33 至 2.66mg 提取物/mL。采用高效液相色谱法（HPLC）对提取物中的金丝桃素（Hfn）、伪金丝桃素（Phn）和金丝桃素（Hpn）进行定量分析。本研究中使用的 133mg/mL SJW 提取物溶液中含有 2.3mg/mL 的 Hfn、0.8mg/mL 的 Hpn 和 2.1mg/mL 的 Phn。在类似的粗提物浓度下，对 Hfn、Hpn 和 Phn 进行了抑制分枝杆菌 JLS（M. JLS）活性的测试。46µg/mL 的 Hfn 具有抑制作用，而相应 SJW 处理浓度下的 SJW 纯成分均无杀菌作用。SJW 处理后的 M. JLS 细胞的扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析显示，细胞表面形态发生了变化。
