Isopimpinellin Is Not Phototoxic in a Chick Skin Assay

Abstract— Synthetic isopimpinellin (5,8-dimethoxypsoralen), confirmed to contain as impurities only trace quantities at most of psoralen, bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen) and xanthotoxin (8-methoxypsoralen), is not phototoxic when tested in a chick skin bioassay system. These findings are at variance with earlier studies showing isopimpinellin to be phototoxic against chick skin and support the conclusion that isopimpinellin is photobiologically inactive. As recently proposed by others, the several reports of isopimpinellin photoactivity are most likely attributable to contamination by small amounts of highly active psoralens such as bergapten or xanthotoxin.