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African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Vol. 5(17), pp. 1959-1966, 8 November, 2011
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJPP
DOI: 10.5897/AJPP11.527
ISSN 1996-0816 © 2011 Academic Journals
Review
A review on Hyssopus officinalis L.: Composition and
biological activities
Fatemeh Fathiazad* and Sanaz Hamedeyazdan
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Accepted 5 October, 2011
Hyssopus officinalis L. (Hyssop) is one of the most popular herbal preparations, mainly distributed in
the East Mediterranean to central Asia. The plant has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes;
generally, these therapeutic uses and health benefits of hyssop are largely based on folklore rather
than on scientific substantiation, making it a good candidate to gather documentations, including the
phytochemical content, in vitro experiments, animal models and human studies available in the recent
scientific studies. A literature review on the chemical and biological aspects of the plant indicates that
the main constituents of H. officinalis include several polyphenolic compounds, primarily the
flavonoids apigenin, quercetin, diosmin, luteolin and their glucosides followed by other phenolic
compounds chlorogenic, protocatechuic, ferulic, syringic, p-hydroxybenzoic and caffeic acids. Reports
on the essential oils extracted from aerial parts of H. officinalis revealed several principal components,
including terpenoids pinocamphone, isopinocamphone and β-pinene. Hyssop has moderate antioxidant
and antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria activities together with antifungal
and insecticidal antiviral properties in vitro. Animal model studies indicate myorelaxant, antiplatelet and
α-glucosidase inhibitory activities for this plant. However, human studies, adverse reactions and
clinical trials examining the reported properties of hyssop are absent and needs more attention to
determine whether biological differences in findings of the studies reflect the different isolation
procedures, different types of plant material used, collection time, locations or different chemotypes.
Key words: Hyssopus officinalis L., phenolic compounds, essential oil, extract.
INTRODUCTION
One of the most frequently consumed herbal remedies
available today is the hyssop preparations prepared from
Hyssopus officinalis (L) which is gaining increased
importance as a minty flavor, condiment and spices in
food industries as well (Dragland et al., 2003; Jung et al.,
2004; Lugasi et al., 2006). Not surprisingly, like many
other herbal preparations used in traditional medicinal
cultures, the therapeutic uses and health benefits of
hyssop are largely based on folklore rather than on
scientific substantiation. Regardless of the wide range of
literatures suggesting health benefits of herbal remedies
associated with hyssop, evidence-based information
regarding the effects of hyssop is quite limited.
Developing an efficient herbal remedy is reliant to a
*Corresponding author. E-mail: fathiazad@tbzmed.ac.ir. Tel:
+98 411 6692405. Fax: +98 411 3344798.
better understanding of the relationship between
chemical constituents and biological properties of the
natural product. In view of these aspects, natural
products, particularly higher plant species, continue to be
important sources of medicine and supplementary health
products which represent a challenge to science due to
their various properties, including chemical diversity,
synergism to biological activity and variable
compositions. Herein, we tried to gather detailed
documentations of the available scientific papers related
to the bioactivity and potential health benefits of hyssop
ensuring a high quality herbal medicine to meet the ever
more demands of the public.
NOMENCLATURE
The genus Hyssopus comprises aromatic perennial herbs
or subshrubs that are mainly cultivated, but can also be