Psoralen or also called psoralene there is the major compound in a group of natural products known as furocoumarins. It has structural formation related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered as a derivative of umbelliferone.
The seeds of Psoralea corylifolia naturally contain Psoralen as well as it occurs in common in Fig, Celery, Parsley and West Indian satinwood. It is widely used in PUVA (=Psoralen +UVA) treatment for psoriasis, eczema and vitiligo. Although safe to mammals, it should be used with care since many furocoumarins are extremely toxic to certain sea species.
Psoralen is a combination of all effective herbs with effective healing power but this un-supervised use can be occurred with unacceptable consequences Psoralen is a significant mutagen and is used for this purpose in molecular biology research.
