a substance from plants that is sensitive to light (or can be activated by light). psoralens are used together with uv light to treat psoriasis, vitiligo, and skin nodules of cutaneous t-cell lymphoma. they are also being studied in the treatment of graft-versus-host disease. psoralen is a type of furocoumarin. an example of a psoralen is methoxsalen.
出典:Wiktionary
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/05/02 20:15 UTC 版)
Psoralen (also called psoralene) is the parent compound in a family of natural products known as furocoumarins. It is structurally related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered as a derivative of umbelliferone. Psoralen occurs naturally in the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia, as well as in the common Fig, celery, parsley and West Indian satinwood. It is widely used in PUVA (=Psoralen +UVA) treatment for psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Many furocoumarins are extremely toxic to fish, and some are indeed used in streams in Indonesia to catch fish.