Sphondin (10–50 μM) pretreatment of A549 cells decreased COX-2 protein expression and PGE2 release caused by IL-1β in a concentration-dependent manner [1].

Metabolism / Metabolites
Papilio glaucus (tiger swallowtail) is a generalist that rarely encounters plants containing furanocoumarins yet is constitutively capable of metabolizing low levels of these highly toxic allelochemicals. In larvae of this species, metabolism of linear (xanthotoxin, bergapten), and angular (angelicin, sphondin), furanocoumarins can be induced up to 30-fold by the presence of xanthotoxin in their diet. Degenerate primers corresponding to conserved amino acid sequences in three insect P450s, Musca domestica (CYP6A1), Drosophila melanogaster (CYP6A2) and Papilio polyxenes (CYP6B1), were used to clone xanthotoxin-induced P450 transcripts from P. glaucus larvae by a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) strategy. Positive clones encoding the highly conserved F--G-R-C-G P450 signature motif were used to isolate a full-length CYP6B4v1 cDNA from a P. glaucus xanthotoxin-induced cDNA library. Sequence comparisons indicate the P. glaucus CYP6B4v1 protein sequence is 63% and 61% identical, respectively, to the P. polyxenes furanocoumarin-inducible CYP6B1v1 and CYP6B3v1 proteins. Northern analysis indicates that CYP6B4 and related transcripts are highly induced in response to xanthotoxin. Baculovirus-mediated expression of the CYP6B4v1 protein in lepidopteran cell lines demonstrates that this P450 isozyme metabolizes isopimpinellin, imperatorin, and bergapten at high rates, xanthotoxin and psoralen at intermediate rates and angelicin, sphondin, and trioxsalen only at very low rates.

Toxicity Summary
IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Sphondin is a component of Heracleum maximum roots, these roots are commonly used by the indigenous peoples of North America for the treatment of respiratory ailments including tuberculosis. HUMAN STUDIES: Photoepicutaneous testing showed weak phototoxic effects from sphondin. Photocontact allergy to psoralens in Heracleum laciniatum occurred in two persons volunteering for investigations into phototoxicity of plant homogenates and purified psoralens. Photoallergy was noted following the fifth exposure in case 1, and the sixth in case 2. Testing with diluted solutions demonstrated allergy to sphondin, isobergapten and pimpinellin. ANIMAL STUDIES: Sphondin effectively inhibited mouse coumarin 7-hydroxylase (COH) activity. Sphondin showed anti-proliferative activity and caused G2/M arrest at concentrations of 0.05-15.0 uM when tested against B16F10 melanoma cells.
Sphondin possesses an inhibitory effect on IL-1b-induced COX-2 protein expression and PGE2 release in human pulmonary epithelial cell line (A549). The mechanism of action many furocoumarins is based on their ability to form photoadducts with DNA and other cellular components such as RNA, proteins, and several proteins found in the membrane such as phospholipases A2 and C, Ca-dependent and cAMPdependent protein-kinase and epidermal growth factor. Furocoumarins intercalate between base pairs of DNA and after ultraviolet-A irradiation, giving cycloadducts. (L579).

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Interactions
At concentrations up to 6.7 ppm, 8-methoxypsoralen, sphondin, and khellin are not toxic to first-instar larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The irradiation of sensitized larvae with long-wavelength ultraviolet light did not always produce any immediate toxicity enhancement, but delayed effects were clearly visible. These were observed over the development of the organisms from first-instar larvae to adults. No adverse effects were noted when larvae were irradiated in the absence of sensitizers, or when they were placed in solutions of sensitizers which had been previously irradiated with the same light sources. 8-Methoxypsoralen was slightly more phototoxic than its isomer sphondin. Khellin, recently reported to undergo photoinduced cyclization with DNA components, showed minimal phototoxicity in the concentration range used.

[1]. Effects of Sphondin, Isolated From Heracleum Laciniatum, on IL-1beta-induced cyclooxygenase-2 Expression in Human Pulmonary Epithelial Cells. Life Sci. 2002 Nov 29;72(2):199-213.

Sphondin is a furanocoumarin.
Sphondin has been reported in Heracleum dissectum, Heracleum vicinum, and other organisms with data available.
A furanocoumarin derivative isolated from Heracleum laciniatum (L579). Furocoumarins, are phototoxic and photocarcinogenic. They intercalate DNA and photochemically induce mutations. Furocoumarins are botanical phytoalexins found to varying extents in a variety of vegetables and fruits, notably citrus fruits. The levels of furocoumarins present in our diets, while normally well below that causing evident acute phototoxicity, do cause pharmacologically relevant drug interactions. Some are particularly active against cytochrome P450s. For example, in humans, bergamottin and dihydroxybergamottin are responsible for the 'grapefruit juice effect', in which these furanocoumarins affect the metabolism of certain drugs.

C12H8O4

216.1895

216.042

483-66-9

108104

Off-white to light yellow solid powder

1.4±0.1 g/cm3

413.0±45.0 °C at 760 mmHg

203.6±28.7 °C

0.0±1.0 mmHg at 25°C

1.635

1.83

0

4

1

16

325

0

DLCJNIBLOSKIQW-UHFFFAOYSA-N

InChI=1S/C12H8O4/c1-14-9-6-7-2-3-10(13)16-11(7)8-4-5-15-12(8)9/h2-6H,1H3

6-methoxyfuro[2,3-h]chromen-2-one

2934.99.9001

Powder      -20°C    3 years

                     4°C     2 years

In solvent   -80°C    6 months

                  -20°C    1 month

Note: Please store this product in a sealed and protected environment (e.g. under nitrogen), avoid exposure to moisture and light.

Room temperature (This product is stable at ambient temperature for a few days during ordinary shipping and time spent in Customs)

DMSO : ~25 mg/mL (~115.64 mM)

Solubility in Formulation 1: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (11.56 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 40% PEG300 + 5% Tween80 + 45% Saline (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 400 μL PEG300 and mix evenly; then add 50 μL Tween-80 to the above solution and mix evenly; then add 450 μL normal saline to adjust the volume to 1 mL.
Preparation of saline: Dissolve 0.9 g of sodium chloride in 100 mL ddH₂ O to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 2: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (11.56 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% (20% SBE-β-CD in Saline) (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of 20% SBE-β-CD physiological saline solution and mix evenly.
Preparation of 20% SBE-β-CD in Saline (4°C，1 week): Dissolve 2 g SBE-β-CD in 10 mL saline to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 3: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (11.56 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% Corn Oil (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of corn oil and mix evenly.

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 (Please use freshly prepared in vivo formulations for optimal results.)