Phytomedicine. 2002 Sep; 9(6): 496-9.

St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) and kindling epilepsy in rabbit.

Ivetic V, Popovic M, Mimica-Dukic N, Barak O, Pilija V.

Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.

Effects of different extracts of Hypericum perforatum L. on the kindling epileptic discharges were analyzed. The experiment was carried out on Chinchilla rabbits with chronically implanted electrodes in cortical structures and hippocampus. In our study we used water, n-butanol and ether fractions (mass concentrations 0.1 g/ml) of crude ethanol extract of Hypericum perforatum. The particular extracts were given intramuscularly in single dose of 1 ml/kg BW. The bioelectric activity was registered before and after applications of each extracts. The obtained results show that the effect depends on the constituents present in particular fractions. The repression of epileptic activity was in correlation with the polarity of plant constituents. Most polar constituents that remained in water fraction exerted highest antiepileptic activity in all (100%) animals tested. Substances present in butanol fraction repressed the epileptic manifestations in 40% of animals with kindling epilepsy, whereas lipid-soluble constituents in ether fraction potentated the epileptic activity.