A bioassay using Artemia salina for detecting phototoxicity of plant coumarins

Artemia salina (brine shrimp) has been successfully used for toxicity testing, and a screening test for phototoxicity has been developed based on this method. The ability of the method to test the phototoxic potential of seven known compounds was investigated. Athamantin (an angular furanocoumarin) and umbelliferone (a simple coumarin) showed no phototoxicity, while linear furanocoumarins exhibited phototoxic activity in the following order: psoralen > bergapten > peucedanin > xanthotoxin. The applicability of this method was also tested in screening the phototoxicity of plant material. Six plants from Apiaceae [Aegopodium podagraria L., Anethum graveolens L., Angelica archangelica L., Levisticum officinalis Koch, Petroselinum crispum (P. Mill) A. W. Hill., and Peucedanum palustre (L.) Moench] and one from Rutaceae (Ruta graveolens L.) were selected, all of them known to contain furanocoumarins. Extracts from leaves collected at different times during the growth period were used in the screening. Our results were in accordance with the furanocoumarin content of these plants and with the results of other phototoxicity tests. The Artemia salina method proved to be rapid, simple and inexpensive, and is therefore ideal in the initial biological screening of large numbers of samples for simultaneous detection of both toxicity and phototoxicity.