Comparative Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds of Flowers, Leaves and Stems of Wild Hypericum perforatum L. in Türkiye

The phytochemical content of medicinal and aromatic plants is important for evaluating their biological activity and pharmacological efficacy. In this study, Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's wort), a plant that grows naturally in many regions of Türkiye, was collected from the Çankırı (Eldivan) region, and the phenolic compounds of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts from the flower, leaf, and stem parts were investigated. Phenolic compounds were identified using LC-MS/MS. All analyses were performed in triplicate, and the results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. According to the findings, different parts of the same plant showed significant differences in phenolic compound content depending on the solvent used. In methanol extracts, quinic acid, catechin, epicatechin, and rutin were the compounds with the highest concentrations. The highest concentrations of quinic acid (12977.78 μg/g), catechin (5675.56 μg/g), epicatechin (18400 μg/g), and rutin (9244.44 μg/g) were determined in the methanol stem extract. In the study, the compound content identified in the methanol extract was higher than that in the ethyl acetate extract. However, the highest amounts of phenolic compounds were detected in the methanol stem extract among the methanol and ethyl acetate extracts. According to the LC-MS/MS results, methanolic extracts exhibited a higher phenolic compound content.