Furanocoumarins with affinity to brain benzodiazepine receptors in vitro

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) Vol. 44; no. 6; pp. 1121 - 1124
• Main Authors: Bergendorff, Ola, Dekermendjian, Kim, Nielsen, Mogens, Shan, Rudong, Witt, Robin, Ai, Jinglu, Sterner, Olov
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.03.1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Binding, Competitive; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Brain - metabolism; Clinical Medicine; Coumarins - chemistry; Coumarins - isolation & purification; Coumarins - pharmacology; Dermatologi och venereologi; Dermatology and Venereal Diseases; Diazepam - metabolism; Furans; General pharmacology; Klinisk medicin; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Molecular Structure; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Roots; Plants, Medicinal; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, GABA-A - drug effects; Receptors, GABA-A - metabolism; Umbelliferae; roots; Angelica dahurica; phellopterin; benzodiazepine receptor; furanocoumarins; Root; Molecular structure; Pharmacognosy; Furan derivatives; Benzodiazepine receptor; Coumarin; In vitro; Biological activity; Medicinal plant; Fixation; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Plant origin; Isolation; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/S0031-9422(96)00703-0

Eight furanocoumarins were isolated from a methanoll extract of dried roots of Angelica dahurica. One of these, phellopterin, strongly (IC 50 = 0.36 μM) inhibits the binding of [ 3H]diazepam to central nervous system benzodiazepine receptors in vitro, while the others, despite their structural similarities with phellopterin, are considerably less active.