Dihydrofuranocoumarin, chalepin (1) and furanocoumarin, chalepensin (2) are 3-prenylated bioactive coumarins, first isolated from the well-known medicinal plant Ruta chalepensis L. (Fam: Rutaceae) but also distributed in various species of the genera Boenminghausenia, Clausena and Ruta. The distribution of these compounds appears to be restricted to the plants of the family Rutaceae. To date, there have been a considerable number of bioactivity studies performed on coumarins 1 and 2, which include their anticancer, antidiabetic, antifertility, antimicrobial, antiplatelet aggregation, antiprotozoal, antiviral and calcium antagonistic properties. This review article presents a critical appraisal of publications on bioactivity of these 3-prenylated coumarins in the light of their feasibility as novel therapeutic agents and investigate their natural distribution in the plant kingdom, as well as a plausible biosynthetic route.

Cell and Molecular Biology Lab Department of Zoology Government College University Faisalabad 38000 Pakistan

Centre for Natural Products Discovery School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Liverpool John Moores University James Parsons Building Byrom Street Liverpool L3 3AF UK

Laboratory of Growth Regulators Institute of Experimental Botany ASCR and Palacký University Šlechtitelů 27 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic

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