Inhibitory activity of monoamine oxidase by coumarins from Peucedanum japonicum.

Four coumarins were isolated from chloroform extract of the root of Peucedanum japonicum and identified as praeruptorin A(1), xanthotoxin (2), psoralen (3) and bergapten (4) on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The inhibitory activities of these coumarins on monoamine oxidase prepared by mouse brain were tested. The IC50 values of them were shown to be 27.4 microM (1), 40.7 microM (2), 35.8 microM (3), and 13.8 microM (4), in vitro.