Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils from Cultivated and Wild Grown St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

The GC, GC/MS analysis revealed more than 80 individual components in the volatile fractions of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) grown in Greece, from which 69 have been identifed. Germacrene D was the main component found in the hydrodistilled oils from wild-grown (22.8%) and cultivated plants (16.9%), respectively, followed by 2-methyloctane (10.8–17.8%), β-caryophyllene (6.6–10.3%), α-pinene (5.2–10.1%) and bicyclogermacrene (4.1–4.8%). Fourteen of the constituents characterized in the oils of wild-grown plants were not detected in the oils of cultivated plants.