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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #82642
Title: FURANOCOUMARINS IN FLORIDA CELERY VARIETIES INCREASED BY FUNGICIDE TREATMENT

Author
item NIGG, HERBERT - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item STRANDBERG, J - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item Beier, Ross
item Petersen, H
item HARRISON, J - UNIV. OF FLORIDA

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/24/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Since the late 1940's it has been known that natural plant chemicals referred to as linear furanocoumarins cause abnormal redness and blisters. Celery workers and handlers in grocery stores as well as celery field workers have been affected by abnormal skin redness and blisters. It has been shown that celery can produce high enough levels of the linear furanocoumarins to cause the toxic effect of these chemicals. It was the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that normal fungicide treatments of celery in the field could cause elevated linear furanocoumarin levels. This result suggests that there is a period of time after treatment of celery with certain fungicides that the risk of phototoxic dermatitis would be greater, and field workers and celery handlers also could have greater exposure.

Technical Abstract: Florida celery cultivars Florida 2-14, Florimart, M9, Florida 296, M68, and Junebelle contained total psoralen + bergapten + xanthotoxin + isopimpinellin ranging from about 12 to 50 ug/g. Treatment of the commercial Florida cultivar 2-14 with Bravo 500, Manzate-D, or Kocide 101 fungicides increased bergapten 2-3 times in leaves but did not increase psoralen levels. These increases represent increased calculated biological activity toward human skin. This is the first report of fungicide induction of furanocoumarins in celery.