Furocoumarins are a class of compounds produced by several plant species, including some popularly consumed by humans. Furocoumarins are known to be well absorbed from food sources, and can be rapidly distributed into several tissues including the skin. In human skin, when exposed to UV radiation, furocoumarins may become photoactivated and form interstrand crosslinks with DNA, thereby disrupting DNA transcription. Because of this property, furocoumarins have been combined as topical or oral agents with UV irradiation as a phototherapy to treat multiple skin conditions, yet these treatments have been shown to increase risk of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Whether or not dietary furocoumarin exposure may confer the same risk is not yet known. This review summarizes the current evidence regarding the activities of ingested furocoumarins, with particular focus on how dietary furocoumarins are absorbed, metabolized, and distributed throughout the body, and their interactions with various cellular components that may underlie a potential relationship with skin cancer.

呋喃香豆素是由几种植物产生的一类化合物，其中包括一些人类普遍食用的化合物。已知呋喃香豆素可从食物中很好地吸收，并且可以迅速分布到包括皮肤在内的多个组织中。在人类皮肤中，呋喃香豆素在暴露于紫外线辐射时可能会被光激活，并与DNA形成链间交联，从而破坏DNA转录。由于这种特性，呋喃香豆素已作为局部或口服药物与紫外线照射作为光疗组合使用，以治疗多种皮肤疾病，但这些治疗方法已显示会增加黑色素瘤和非黑色素瘤皮肤癌的风险。饮食中是否摄入呋喃香豆素是否可能带来相同的风险尚不清楚。