7-Methoxycoumarin

Estrogen-like and tissue-selective effects of 7-methoxycoumarin from Ficus umbellata (Moraceae): an in vitro and in vivo study.[Pubmed:28768532]

BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 Aug 2;17(1):383.

BACKGROUND: Ficus umbellata is a medicinal plant previously shown to endow estrogenic properties. Its major component was isolated and characterized as 7-Methoxycoumarin (MC). Noteworthy, coumarins and the respective active metabolite 7-hydroxycoumarin analogs have shown aromatase inhibitory activity, which is of particular interest in the treatment of estrogen-dependent cancers. The present work aimed at evaluating the estrogenic/antiestrogenic effects of MC in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: To do so, in vitro assays using E-screen and reporter gene were done. In vivo, a 3-day uterotrophic assay followed by a postmenopausal-like rat model to characterize MC as well as F. umbellata aqueous extract in ovariectomized Wistar rats was performed. The investigations focused on histological (vaginal and uterine epithelial height) and morphological (uterine wet weight, vagina stratification and cornification) endpoints, bone mass, biochemical parameters and lipid profile. RESULTS: MC induced a significant (p < 0.05) MCF-7 cell proliferation at a concentration of 0.1 muM, but did not inhibit the effect induced by estradiol in both E-screen and reporter gene assays. In vivo, MC treatment did not show an uterotrophic effect in both rat models used. However, MC (1 mg/kg) induced a significant increase (p < 0.01) of vaginal epithelial height. No significant change was observed with MC in abdominal fat weight, serum lipid levels and bone weight. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MC has a weak estrogenic activity in vitro and in vivo that accounts only in part to the estrogenicity of the whole plant extract. MC could be beneficial with regard to vagina dryness as it showed a tissue specific effect without exposing the uterus to a potential tumorigenic growth.

Ameliorative effects of 7-methylcoumarin and 7-methoxycoumarin against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.[Pubmed:23126493]

Drug Chem Toxicol. 2013 Jan;36(1):42-7.

The available conventional remedies for the treatment of drug-induced liver diseases are highly inadequate and possess serious adverse effects; therefore, the development of new, effective drugs is considered necessary. This article explores the hepatoprotective and antioxidant potential of 7-methylcoumarin (MC) and 7-Methoxycoumarin (MOC) in CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. MC and MOC individually, at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight, were administered orally once-daily for 7 days. The hepatoprotective activity was assessed using various biochemical parameters, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum bilirubin (TB), total protein (TP), and albumin (TA). Serum antioxidant enzyme [e.g., superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)] levels were determined. Also, thiobarbituric-acid-related substances (TBARS) levels, along with histopathological studies of liver tissue, were scrutinized. Pretreatment with MC and MOC significantly decreased ALT, AST, and TB in the serum of CCl(4)-induced liver damaged rats in a dose-dependent manner. TA and TP levels in the serum were also restored significantly in all presupplemented MC and MOC groups. In addition, oxidative stress induced by CCl(4) was prevented significantly; thereby, increasing SOD and CAT levels and decreasing TBARS levels in liver homogenates. Histopathological studies revealed the ameliorative natures of both the compounds. This study demonstrates the strong hepatoprotective activity of MC and MOC, which could be attributed to their potent antioxidant effects.