4-phenylcoumarin and Papilloma

In a search for anti-tumor-promoting agents, we carried out a primary screening of ten 4-phenylcoumarins isolated from Calophyllum inophyllum L. (Guttiferae), by examining their possible inhibitory effects on Epstein--Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in Raji cells. All of the compounds tested in this study showed inhibitory activity against EBV, without showing any cytotoxicity. Calocoumarin-A (5) showed more potent activity than any of the other compounds tested. Furthermore, calocoumarin-A (5) exhibited a marked inhibitory effect on mouse skin tumor promotion in an in vivo two-stage carcinogenesis test. The results of the present investigation indicate that some of these 4-phenylcoumarins might be valuable as potential cancer chemopreventive agents (anti-tumor-promoters).

Topics: Animals; Anticarcinogenic Agents; Antigens, Viral; Carcinogens; Coumarins; Female; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Papilloma; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal; Skin Neoplasms; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Trees; Virus Activation