The Mode of the Activity of Naturally Occurring Furanocoumarins on Hepatic Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System

천연 Furanocoumarin 유도체들이 간의 Cytochrome P-450 효소계에 미치는 작용기전

The effects of naturally occurring furanocoumarins on cytochrome P-450 have been investigated in rat liver microsomes. Incubation of microsomes with an NADPH-generating system and four furanocoumarins such as imperatorin, isoimperatorin, phellopterin and byakangelicin at $37^{\circ}$ in vitro resulted in a significant destruction of cytochrome P-450. A single treatment(50 mg/kg, i.p.) of rats with each furanocoumarin caused a rapid loss of cytochrome P-450 accompanied by the loss of heme from the microsomes but not by the loss of cytochrome $b_5$. It is suggested that cytochrome P-450 is specifically destroyed by furanocoumarins in a metabolic process involving destruction of its heme group and as a consequence, hepatic enzyme activities are depressed markedly.