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Title: Removal of furanocoumarins in grapefruit juice by edible fungi

Author
item Myung, Kyung
item Narciso, Jan
item Manthey, John

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/2008
Publication Date: 11/14/2008
Citation: Myung, K., Narciso, J.A., Manthey, J.A. 2008. Removal of furanocoumarins in grapefruit juice by edible fungi. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 56:12064-12068.

Interpretive Summary: Furanocoumarins are active components in grapefruit-drug interactions. This study looks at a potential use of edible fungi to remove furanocoumarins in grapefruit juice. In this study, the four edible fungi tested showed effectiveness in adsorbing furanocoumarins in grapefruit juice. This information is useful for further studies on food binding to remove furanocoumarins.

Technical Abstract: Furanocoumarins (FCs), a class of phenolic compounds in plants, irreversibly inhibit human cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP 3A4) responsible for metabolism of certain medications. This inhibition increases the oral bioavailability of these medications, leading to potential toxic effects. Despite the health benefits of grapefruit, these interactions have adversely affected the grapefruit industry, and have led to a need to remove the FCs from grapefruit juice (GFJ). Previously, we reported that FCs in GFJ bind to autoclaved Aspergillus niger, and the removal of FCs in GFJ by the fungus resulted in a reduced inhibitory activity of CYP 3A4. However, A. niger is not an edible fungus, and thus we have extended our research to evaluate potentially similar binding by edible fungi. In this study, we show that autoclaved Morchella esculenta, an edible ascomycete, removes some FCs from GFJ, leading to a decreased inhibition of CYP 3A4 activity by the GFJ. Other edible fungi, including Monascus purpureus, Pleurotus sapidus, and Agaricus bisporus were evaluated for their binding with two of the major FCs in GFJ, 6', 7'-dihydroxybergamottin (DHB) and bergamottin (BM). These heat-killed edible fungi removed FCs from GFJ, similar to M. esculenta, indicating that binding is a general passive interaction between FCs and fungal hyphae. The removal of FCs was independent of pH in GFJ. Dried fungal material of M. esculenta was also effective in removing FCs from GFJ, suggesting a possible application of dry fungal material to remove FCs in GFJ. The removal of FCs was observed from GFJ samples prepared from both fresh grapefruit and GFJ concentrate.