Research Group in Community Nutrition and Oxidative Stress, University of the Balearic Islands and Health Research Institute of Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Arturo Prat, Avda. Arturo Prat 2120, Iquique 1110939, Chile.
Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2022 Apr 25;2022:8615242. doi: 10.1155/2022/8615242. eCollection 2022.
Bergapten (BP) or 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) is a furocoumarin compound mainly found in bergamot essential oil but also in other citrus essential oils and grapefruit juice. This compound presents antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypolipemic, and anticancer effects and is successfully used as a photosensitizing agent. The present review focuses on the research evidence related to the therapeutic properties of bergapten collected in recent years. Many preclinical and studies have been evidenced the therapeutic action of BP; however, few clinical trials have been carried out to evaluate its efficacy. These clinical trials with BP are mainly focused on patients suffering from skin disorders such as psoriasis or vitiligo. In these trials, the administration of BP (oral or topical) combined with UV irradiation induces relevant lesion clearance rates. In addition, beneficial effects of bergamot extract were also observed in patients with altered serum lipid profiles and in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver. On the contrary, there are no clinical trials that investigate the possible effects on cancer. Although the bioavailability of BP is lower than that of its 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) isomer, it has fewer side effects allowing higher concentrations to be administered. In conclusion, although the use of BP has therapeutic applications on skin disorders as a sensitizing agent and as components of bergamot extract as hypolipemic therapy, more trials are necessary to define the doses and treatment guidelines and its usefulness against other pathologies such as cancer or bacterial infections.
佛手柑呋喃香豆素（BP）或 5-甲氧基补骨脂素（5-MOP）是一种呋喃香豆素化合物，主要存在于佛手柑精油中，但也存在于其他柑橘精油和葡萄柚汁中。该化合物具有抗菌、抗炎、降血脂和抗癌作用，并成功用作光敏剂。本综述重点介绍近年来收集的有关佛手柑治疗特性的研究证据。许多临床前和临床研究已经证明了 BP 的治疗作用；然而，很少有临床试验来评估其疗效。这些关于 BP 的临床试验主要集中在患有皮肤疾病（如银屑病或白癜风）的患者上。在这些试验中，BP（口服或局部）联合紫外线照射的给药可诱导相关病变清除率。此外，在血脂异常和非酒精性脂肪肝患者中也观察到了佛手柑提取物的有益作用。相反，没有临床试验研究其对癌症的可能影响。尽管 BP 的生物利用度低于其 8-甲氧基补骨脂素（8-MOP）异构体，但它的副作用较少，允许给予更高的浓度。总之，尽管 BP 作为敏化剂用于皮肤疾病，作为佛手柑提取物的成分用于降脂治疗具有治疗应用，但仍需要更多的试验来确定剂量和治疗指南，以及其在其他疾病（如癌症或细菌感染）中的用途。
