Análisis de las características fitoquímicas y propiedades farmacológicas del género Hypericum existente en la zona andina del Ecuador

Abstract

Traditional medicine is considered by the World Health Organization as a fundamental pillar in the community’s health. The genus Hypericum belongs to the Hyperiaceae family and is distributed throughout the world with around 500 species, of which the most studied is H. perforatum. In Ecuador, 8 species of this genus have been registered in the Andean zone, these are: H. aciculare, H. canadense, H. lancioides, H. laricifolium, H. montanum, H. silenoides, H. sprucei y H. strictum. The purpose of this study was to collect research on the phytochemical composition and pharmaceutical applications of the species of the genus Hypericum present in the Andean zone of Ecuador. Articles and documents related to the proposed topic, published in scientific databases, were analyzed using certain inclusion criteria such as scientific publications made in English and Spanish since 2015. 110 articles were collected, of which 86 were used for this research. Regarding the phytochemical composition in this study, they were classified into four groups as: anthraquinone derivatives, phloroglucinols, flavonoids and polyphenols. These compounds are very important, since the different biological applications attributed to the species of this genus depend on them, for example, antidepressant activity that is the main characteristic attributed to H. perforatum, and which only H. laricifolium and H. silenoides have. These molecules are also responsible for the hypuglycemic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, anticancer, antimicrobial activity, among others. No relevant information was found for this study on H. canadense, H. sprucei, and H. strictum.