St. John's wort has been used in herbal healing for more than 2000 years. It is one of the most popular herbal remedies for depression, anxiety and unrest. Its external use for relieving inflammation and promoting wound healing is well known, too. The aim of this study was to investigate antiulcer potency of St. John's wort extracts by using a model of ethanol-induced stress ulcer in rats.
Two extracts of St. John's wort were used: dry extract standardised to 0.3% of hypericin (Institute for Medicinal Plant Research "Dr Josif Pančić", Belgrade) and commercially available ethanolic extract containing hypericin 2.5 mg/100 cm3 (Biosenzalâ , "Zdravlje", Leskovac). The gastric lesions had been induced by absolute ethanol (1 ml/rat) given to 24hr-starved male Wistar rats (200-250 g) through the gastric tube and their intensity was estimated 60 minutes later. In order to study the gastroprotective efficacy of above-mentioned extracts they were administered per os 60 minutes before ethanol. In this purpose the dry extract was suspended in distilled water and given in doses of 200-800 mg/kg, while the ethanolic extract was given directly from original flask in doses of 1 and 2 ml/kg. The control animals were given saline (1 ml/kg) at the same time before ethanol.
Results showed that both tested extracts of St. John's wort produced dose-dependent and significant gastroprotective effect implying their potential use as antiulcer agents.