Test the performance of java on regex. There are 5 cases. I put the running time of each on my machine as comment. You can remove the "/*" and "*/" of any case to run on it.

benchmarking_java

import java.util.regex.Pattern;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;

public class benchmarking_java {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		// regular expression
		//Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("^.*(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*).*$");
		Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");

		long startTime = 0;
		long endTime = 0;
		long totalTime = 0;
		
		String str1 = "a ligament (e.g. <i>Distichodus</i>, Vari, 1979, fig. 42 )or sheath of connective tissue (e.g. <i>Hoplias</i> )connected to the medial face of the maxilla, and permitting considerable freedom of movement to the posterior end of the maxilla";
		String str2 = ", Vari, 1979, fig. 42 )or sheath of connective tissue (e.g. <i>Hoplias</i> )connected to the medial face of the maxilla, and permitting considerable freedom of movement to the posterior end of the maxilla";
		String str3 = " )connected to the medial face of the maxilla, and permitting considerable freedom of movement to the posterior end of the maxilla";
		String str4 = "ectopterygoid inserted on the ventral surface of the area near the vomer-rnesethmoid articulation (hypothesized fusion in <i>Hepsetus odoe</i> )by means of a ligament attached to a socket or bony facet";
		String str5 = " )by means of a ligament attached to a socket or bony facet";
			

		// run the test cases for a given # of iterations
		for (int j = 1; j <= 100*1000; j = j * 10) {
			System.out.println("# of Iteration: " + j);
			// test cases
			Matcher matcher1 = pattern
					.matcher(str1);
			Matcher matcher2 = pattern
					.matcher(str2);
			Matcher matcher3 = pattern
					.matcher(str3);
			Matcher matcher4 = pattern
					.matcher(str4);
			Matcher matcher5 = pattern
					.matcher(str5);
			
			// start timer
			startTime = System.nanoTime();
			for (int i = 0; i < j; i++) {
				//print out matches (true or false)
				/*
				System.out.println(matcher1.find(0));
				System.out.println(matcher2.find(0));
				System.out.println(matcher3.find(0));
				System.out.println(matcher4.find(0));
				System.out.println(matcher5.find(0));
				//true
				//true
				//false
				//true
				//false
				 */
				
				////////////////////////
				//case 1
				/*
				if(str1.contains("<")) {
					matcher1.find(0);
				}
				if(str2.contains("<")) {
					matcher2.find(0);
				}
				if(str3.contains("<")) {
					matcher3.find(0);
				}
				if(str4.contains("<")) {
					matcher4.find(0);
				}
				if(str5.contains("<")) {
					matcher5.find(0);
				}
				*/
				/*result
				# of Iteration: 1
				Time: 0.001085 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10
				Time: 0.007947 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100
				Time: 0.082454 seconds

				# of Iteration: 1000
				Time: 0.03314 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10000
				Time: 0.189948 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100000
				Time: 1.47002 seconds
				*/
				////////////////////////
				//case 2
				/*
				if(str1.contains("<")) {
					matcher1.matches();
				}
				if(str2.contains("<")) {
					matcher2.matches();
				}
				if(str3.contains("<")) {
					matcher3.matches();
				}
				if(str4.contains("<")) {
					matcher4.matches();
				}
				if(str5.contains("<")) {
					matcher5.matches();
				}
				*/
				/*result
				# of Iteration: 1
				Time: 0.001275 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10
				Time: 0.008449 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100
				Time: 0.098383 seconds

				# of Iteration: 1000
				Time: 0.03417 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10000
				Time: 0.159722 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100000
				Time: 1.533606 seconds
				*/
				////////////////////////				
				//case 3
				/*
				matcher1.find(0);
				matcher2.find(0);
				matcher3.find(0);
				matcher4.find(0);
				matcher5.find(0);
				*/
				/*result
				# of Iteration: 1
				Time: 0.001833 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10
				Time: 0.012524 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100
				Time: 0.056948 seconds

				# of Iteration: 1000
				Time: 0.043023 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10000
				Time: 0.236856 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100000
				Time: 2.108658 seconds
				*/
				////////////////////////				 
				//case 4
				/*
				matcher1.matches();
				matcher2.matches();
				matcher3.matches();
				matcher4.matches();
				matcher5.matches();
				*/
				/*result
				# of Iteration: 1
				Time: 0.00624 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10
				Time: 0.027168 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100
				Time: 0.06416 seconds

				# of Iteration: 1000
				Time: 0.083688 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10000
				Time: 0.251729 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100000
				Time: 2.188301 seconds
				*/
				////////////////////////					
				//case 5
				/*
				str1.matches("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");
				str2.matches("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");
				str3.matches("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");
				str4.matches("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");
				str5.matches("^(.*?)<i>\\s*([^<]*)\\s*<\\/i>(.*)$");
				*/
				/*result
				# of Iteration: 1
				Time: 0.002021 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10
				Time: 0.023815 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100
				Time: 0.160201 seconds

				# of Iteration: 1000
				Time: 0.220326 seconds

				# of Iteration: 10000
				Time: 0.391955 seconds

				# of Iteration: 100000
				Time: 3.002674 seconds
				*/
			}
			// end timer
			endTime = System.nanoTime();
			// print out time
			totalTime = endTime - startTime;
			// System.out.println("Start Time: "+startTime +" seconds\n");
			// System.out.println("End   Time: "+endTime +" seconds\n");
			System.out.println("Time: " + (double) totalTime
					/ (1000 * 1000 * 1000) + " seconds\n");
		}
	}
}