To investigate the possible drug interaction with herbal medicine, hot water decoctions or 40% ethanol infusions of several Umbelliferous or Citrus crude drugs and their prescriptions were examined in vitro for their abilities to inhibit human cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A). Addition of each decoction or infusion from Baizhi (Angelica dahurica and varieties), Qianghuo (Notopterygium incisum or N. f...

We investigated the effect of bergamottin, a major furanocoumarin in grapefruit juice, on phase I and phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes using cultured human and monkey hepatocytes. Both cultured systems were compared and evaluated for the direct effects of bergamottin as well as control treatments on liver enzymes. Treatment of hepatocytes with 0.1, 1, 5, and 10 microM bergamottin resulted in ...

The furanocoumarin compound bergapten is a plant secondary metabolite that has anti-insect function. When incorporated into artificial diet, it retarded cowpea bruchid development, decreased fecundity, and caused mortality at a sufficient dose. cDNA microarray analysis indicated that cowpea bruchid altered expression of 543 midgut genes in response to dietary bergapten. Among these bergapten-re...

OBJECTIVES Recently, bergamot oil was shown to be a potent antifungal agent in vitro against clinically important Candida species. In this study, the activities of bergamot natural essence and its furocoumarin-free and distilled extracts on dermatophytes such as Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton species were investigated. METHODS In vitro susceptibility testing assays on 92 clinica...

CYP6B1 represents the principal cytochrome P450 monooxygenase responsible for metabolizing furanocoumarins in Papilio polyxenes, an insect that specializes on host plants containing these toxins. Investigations of the amino acids responsible for the efficient metabolism of these plant toxins has identified Ile115 as one that modulates the rate of furanocoumarin metabolism even though it is pred...

1. Lerman, S.: Lens fluorescence in aging and cataract formation, Doc. Ophthalmol. 8:241, 1976. 2. Parrish, J. A., Fitzpatrick, T. B., Tanenbaum, L., and Pathak, M. A.: Photochemotherapy of psoriasis with oral methoxsalen and longwave ultraviolet light, N. Engl. J. Med. 291: 1207, 1974. 3. Song, P. S., Mantulin, W. W., Mclnturff, D., Felkner, I. C , and Hartner, M. L.: Photoreactivity of hydrox...

Animal experiments have demonstrated the photocarcinogenic properties of furocoumarins, a group of naturally occurring chemicals that are rich in citrus products. We conducted a prospective study for citrus consumption and risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin based on data from 41530 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010) and 6375...

756 CMAJ, July 14, 2015, 187(10) ©2015 8872147 Canada Inc. or its licensors A 26-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a painful blistering eruption on her hands. She had been squeezing limes and lemons while making sangria the previous day. She had spent the rest of the day outdoors in the sun without sunscreen. Hours later, she experienced a painful burning erythema follow...

The dermatologic potentialities of methoxsalen in populations living in the tropics are especially intriguing for several reasons. The nationals of tropical countries tend to be more or less darkly pigmented; in them such physically innocuous processes as vitiligo may have serious social and economic impact. White-skinned residents may be subject to greater actinic dermal injury than would be t...

The petroleum ether extract of Magydaris tomentosa flowers (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch has been analyzed by GC-MS. It is mainly constituted by furanocoumarins such as xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol, isopimpinellin, and bergaptene. Other coumarins such as 7-methoxy-8-(2-formyl-2-methylpropyl) coumarin and osthole also occurred. The antiproliferative activity of Magydaris tomentosa flower extract has been ev...