Plants of the Genus Heracleum as a Source of Coumarin and Furanocoumarin

Heracleum is one of the greatest genera of the Umbelliferae family that has more than 120 species. This genus is represented by 109 species in Asia. Common names for the genus or its species include hogweed and cow parsnip. This paper discusses the phytochemistry, ethnopharmacological use and pharmaceutics of Heracleum species. Many kinds of metabolites have been isolated and identified, that furanocoumarins are among the significant ones. Modern pharmacological studies demonstrated that Heracleum and its active compounds have extensive biological activity, particularly in anticonvulsant, antiinflammatory, antifungal, anticancer, antipsoriatric, antivitiligo and antioxidant activities. In clinical test, Heracleum has successfully been utilized to treat psoriasis, vitiligo, carminative, stomachs, pain killer and anticonvulsant.