1) Medicinal and Aromatic Plant and Drug Research Centre (TBAM), Anadolu University, 26470, Eskisehir, Turkey. 2) Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences, 700170, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 43-45, January-February, 2002. Original article submitted February 12, 2002. 0009-3130/02/3801-0054$27.00 2002 Plenum Publishing Corporation © 54 Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2002 ESSENTIAL OILS OF TWO Hypericum SPECIES FROM UZBEKISTAN* K. H. C. Baser, T. Ozek, H. R. Nuriddinov, UDC 547.913+543.51 1 1 2 and A. B. Demirci 1 The water-distilled essential oils from aerial parts of two Hypericum species (Hypericaceae) have been analyzed by GC/MS. The main components of the essential oils of Hypericum scabrum L. were α-pinene - 11.2%; spathulenol - 7.2%; p-cymene - 6.1%; acetophenone - 4.8%; carvacrol - 4.7%. The essential oil of Hypericum perforatum L. contains as the main components β-caryophyllene - 11.7%; caryophellene oxide - 6.3%; spathulenol - 6.0%; α-pinene - 5.0%. Key words: Hypericum scabrum, Hypericum perforatum, essential oil, GC/MS. Hypericum (Hypericaceae) species have been used for a long time in folk medicine. In recent years H. perforatum has been the ingredient of modern medicines for the treatment of mild depression. The essential oil of H. perforatum has previously been investigated [1-5]. In a recent study [3], α-pinene (61.7%) was reported as the main constituent of the oil in the plant material of Turkish origin. Hypericum perforatum L. is included in the Pharmacopoeias of Russia, Chekhiya, Romania, Poland, and France [4]. In Uzbekistan, a skin remedy is prepared from ashes of its herbal parts. It is used as an antihelminthic in veterinary medicine. The yield and physicochemical properties and oil composition of Hypericum scabrum L. of Turkish origin has previously been reported [3, 6]. It was found to contain α-pinene (71.6%) as the main constituent [3]. Here we report our results on the essential oil composition of H. scabrum and H. perforatum from Uzbekistan. H. scabrum collected in Khisor mountain in the Kashkadar′ya region of Uzbekistan yielded 0.2% essential oil and H. perforatum collected in Nanai village in Chimgan mountains in Tashkent region yielded 0.1% essential oil. The composition of the oils is given in Table 1. A total of 104 and 106 components were characterized representing 85.9% and 89.6% of the essential oils in H. scabrum L. and H. perforatum L., respectively. α-Pinene (11.2%), spathulenol (7.2%), p-cymene (6.1%), acetophenone (4.8%), carvacrol (4.7%) were the main constituents of the essential oil of H. scabrum. The main components of the essential oil of H. perforatum were β-caryophyllene (11.7%), caryophyllene oxide (6.3%), spathulenol (6.0%), α-pinene (5.0%). Caryophyllene and pinene rich oils of H. perforatum have been reported [1-5]. Our results are in agreement with the results reporting sesquiterpenes as the main constituents [1]. ______ *Presented at the 4th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Compounds (SCNC), 6-8 June 2001, Isparta, Turkey.