Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Razieh Azimi ¹
• Bohloul Abbaszadeh ²
• Masoumeh Layeghhaghighi ²
• Aliashraf Jafari ²
• Mahdi Yahyazadeh ²

¹ عضو هیئت علمی

² Medicinal Plants and By-products Research Division, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

     Background and Objectives: Given the economic value of many medicinal plant species in Iran and the demand from related industries, identifying and introducing superior accessions to medicinal plant producers can improve the quantity and quality of plant products, enhance their economic value, and contribute to the development of the medicinal plant industry. This study was carried out as part of complementary research designed to introduce selected medicinal plant cultivars for seed production and increase their cultivated area. The objective was to identify the superior Hypericum perforatum accession based on agronomic and phytochemical traits. Four accessions were selected from the preliminary research phase: A01 (Gene Bank accession code 10601) from Ardabil, A02 (Gene Bank accession code 33255) from Qazvin, A03 (Gene Bank accession code 33258) from Qazvin, and A04 (Gene Bank accession code 23335) from Khalkhal.
Methodology: Seeds of the superior H. perforatum accessions selected during the preliminary research phase were transferred to the Alborz Research Station in the winter of 2021. In spring 2022, the seeds were sown in the field using a randomized complete block design with five replications. In 2023, data were recorded during the flowering and seed-ripening stages. Morphological traits, flowering branch yield, and seed yield per hectare were measured. The above-ground parts of the plants were harvested at full flowering to assess their phytochemical characteristics. Different plant organs, including flowers, leaves, stems, and branches, were extracted separately using 80% methanol adjusted to pH 3 under ultrasonic treatment at 50 °C. Hypericin concentrations in the extracts were subsequently determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, total phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents, as well as antioxidant activity, were evaluated in the hydroalcoholic extract (80% ethanol) of the flowering branches.
Results: Statistical analysis revealed significant differences among the H. perforatum accessions in all morphological traits, individual plant weight, flowering branch yield, seed yield, and phenolic, anthocyanin, and hypericin contents at the 1% significance level. Flavonoid content and antioxidant activity differed significantly at the 5% significance level. Mean comparisons using the least significant difference (LSD) test showed that accession A02 from Qazvin had the greatest plant height (65.8 cm), crown circumference (222 cm), individual flowering plant weight (134.8 g), flowering branch yield (5,392 kg ha⁻¹), individual plant seed weight (12.3 g), and seed yield (492 kg ha⁻¹). The highest total phenolic content (6,240.8 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) g⁻¹ dry matter) was recorded in accession A04 from Khalkhal. In contrast, accession A03 from Qazvin exhibited the highest flavonoid content (810.7 μg quercetin equivalents (QE) g⁻¹ dry matter), anthocyanin content (2.2 μg cyanidin equivalents g⁻¹ fresh matter), and antioxidant activity (58.9%). Analysis of mean hypericin concentrations across plant organs in the four accessions showed that flowers had the highest concentration (3.84 mg g⁻¹), followed by leaves (2.25 mg g⁻¹) and flowering branches (1.49 mg g⁻¹). Stems contained the lowest concentration (0.68 mg g⁻¹). Simple correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between shoot yield and individual plant weight, plant height, and crown circumference. Antioxidant activity was also positively and significantly correlated with hypericin content.
Conclusion: The results identified accession A02 from Qazvin as superior in terms of morphological traits, flowering branch yield, and seed yield, whereas accession A03 from Qazvin showed the highest antioxidant activity. Accession A01 from Ardabil had the highest hypericin concentration in flowering branches. Accordingly, A02 was selected for cultivar introduction, while accessions A01 and A02 appear promising for further research aimed at developing a cultivar with high yield and phytochemical quality.

Keywords

• Medicinal plant-cultivar
• Hypericum perforatum
• hypericin
• morphophysiological traits

Main Subjects

• Improvement and breeding