Experimental studies on the toxicity of Ferula communis in the rat

The study of two chemically characterized varieties of Ferula communis showed that only plants containing prenylated coumarins are toxic. The contrasting data on the toxicity of Ferula communis most probably raised from the use of chemically uncharacterized specimens. Among the constituents of the toxic variety, both ferulenol, a 4-hydroxycoumarin derivative, and ferprenin, a pyrane (3,2-c) coumarin derivative, affected blood clotting. No hepatotoxicity was elicited by these two compounds.