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The oil macerates of Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John׳s Wort=SJW) have a long history of medicinal use and SJW has been used in traditional medicine both orally and topically for centuries worldwide mainly for wound healing, ulcer and inflammation.

We analyzed the fatty acid composition of 10 traditionally (home-made) and 13 commercially (ready-made) prepared SJW oil macerates by GC–MS. The acid, peroxide, iodine, saponification values, and the unsaponifiable matters of the samples were determined according to the European Pharmacopoeia. We also explored potential mechanism of wound healing effect of the samples, i.e. TNFα-induced NF-κB activation.

The most home-made oil samples contained oleic acid predominantly and complied with the requirements set for olive oil by European Pharmacopoeia. However, majority of the ready …