Planta Med 2003; 69(4): 369-371
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-38876
Letter
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Ostruthin: An Antimycobacterial Coumarin from the Roots of Peucedanum ostruthium

Andreas Schinkovitz1 , Simon Gibbons2 , Michael Stavri2 , Michael J. Cocksedge3 , Franz Bucar1
  • 1Institute for Pharmacognosy, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria
  • 2Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy
  • 3Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, U.K.
Further Information

Publication History

Received: August 16, 2002

Accepted: November 23, 2002

Publication Date:
23 April 2003 (online)

Abstract

Following a bioassay-guided fractionation, ostruthin (6-geranyl-7-hydroxycoumarin) was isolated from the roots of Peucedanum ostruthium Koch (Apiaceae) as a compound with pronounced in vitro activity against several species of rapidly growing Mycobacteria, namely Mycobacterium abscesus, M. aurum, M. fortuitum, M. phlei and M. smegmatis. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranged between 3.4 to 107.4 μM and were comparable to those of ethambutol and isoniazid. Imperatorin (8-isopent-2-enyloxy-6,7-furanocoumarin) showed no activity at concentrations up to 1.9 mM. Umbelliferone (7-hydroxycoumarin) was only weakly active (MIC = 0.79 mM).

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Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Franz Bucar

Institute of Pharmacognosy

Karl-Franzens-University of Graz

Universitätsplatz 4/1

8010 Graz

Austria

Email: franz.bucar@uni-graz.at

Fax: +43-316-380-9860