Synergism between myristicin and xanthotoxin, a naturally cooccurring plant toxicant

Myristicin, a methylenedioxyphenyl (MDP)-containing phenylpropene constituent of the leaves of many plants in the family Umbelliferae, is a highly effective Synergist of the cooccurring furanocoumarin xanthotoxin. As little as 0.10 % in an artificial diet can increase the toxicity of xanthotoxin toHeliothis zea (Lepidotera: Noctuidae) fivefold. In addition to increasing the proportion of caterpillars dying at a given xanthotoxin concentration, myristicin also increases the rate at which they die and increases the time to molt of surviving larvae. That there was no increase in the deterrency of xanthotoxin in the presence of myristicin suggests that the mechanism of synergism is not behaviorial but rather is biochemical, via MDP competitive inhibition of microsomal mixed function oxidases.