Pharmacological profile of epiyangambin: a furofuran lignan with PAF antagonist activity.

The ability of a furofuran lignan, epiyangambin, to inhibit PAF-induced rabbit platelet aggregation in vitro and thrombocytopenia in rats was investigated. Epiyangambin dose-dependently inhibited PAF-induced platelet aggregation without modifying the amplitude of the maximal response, indicating a competitive antagonism. The IC50 value of epiyangambin for 10(-9) M PAF-induced aggregation was 6.1 x 10(-7) M and the Schild analysis provided a pA2 of 6.91 +/- 0.2 with a slope of 0.98 +/- 0.25 (n = 4) and a pKb of 6.94 +/- 0.19. Epiyangambin had no effect upon the platelet aggregation induced by collagen, thrombin or ADP. The in vivo administration of the lignan at 20 mg/kg significantly inhibited PAF-induced thrombocytopenia in rats. These data indicate that epiyangambin is a potent and selective antagonist of PAF both in vitro and in vivo.