Canadian Journal of Pure & Applied Sciences

Abstract: Citrus fruits, such as grapefruits and bitter oranges, contain large number of furanocoumarin bioactives which are potent inhibitors of hepatic P-450 cytochrome (CYP) enzymes. In comparison, relatively little is known of the inhibitory potency of furanocoumarin bioactives in plant-base traditional medicine, food supplements and nutraceuticals. In this study we identify and quantify the linear furanocoumarin bioactives in selected traditional herbal medicines and natural health products using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography equipped with an ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UV). Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of 29 plant products belonging to the Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Leguminosae, and Rutaceae families of plants were analyzed for the presence of linear furanocoumarins using GC-MS and HPLC-UV. Based on our experimental results, 8-Methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), 5- methoxypsoralen (5-MOP), and isopimpinellin (ISOP) were detected in the extracts of the following plant products: Ammi majus L. seeds, Angelica archangelica L. roots, Angelica pubescens Maxim. roots, Apium graveolens L. seeds, Apium graveolens L. flakes, Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson fruits, Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss leaves, Pimpinella aniseum L. seeds, and Ruta graveolens L. leaves. Different furanocoumarin bioactives, ranging from 0.016 to 11.468 mg/g dry weight, were found in these plant products. While, linear furanocoumarins such as 8-MOP, 5-MOP, and ISOP were commonly found in the Apiaceae and Rutaceae families of plants.