PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Petersen, C S
AU  - Weismann, K
TI  - Quercetin and kaempherol: an argument against the use of podophyllin?
AID  - 10.1136/sti.71.2.92
DP  - 1995 Apr 01
TA  - Genitourinary Medicine
PG  - 92--93
VI  - 71
IP  - 2
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/71/2/92.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/71/2/92.full
SO  - Genitourin Med1995 Apr 01; 71
AB  - INTRODUCTION--Topical application of podophyllin is a routine procedure in patients with ano-genital warts. Podophyllin is a crude plant extract and is therefore not a well-defined product. It may contain variable amounts of the active lignan podophyllotoxin and the majority of the dry weight of podophyllin is made up of substances never identified. OBJECTIVE--The purpose of the study was to estimate in podophyllin 20% the amounts of two mutagenic substances, quercetin and kaempherol. METHODS--Using high-pressure liquid chromatography the amounts of quercetin and kaempherol were determined in 3 batches of podophyllin 20%. RESULTS--Quercetin and kaempherol constitutes 2.5-3.8% and 6.0-6.4% of podophyllin dry substance, respectively. Podophyllotoxin constitutes in comparison 12.7-13.8% of podophyllin dry substance. CONCLUSION--As approximately 10% of the amount of dry substance in podophyllin 20% is composed of two mutagenic flavonoids, quercetin and kaempherol, efforts should be focused on the production of a well-defined purified podophyllotoxin preparation that may replace podophyllin for clinic use in patients with genital warts. Self-medication with purified podophyllotoxin 0.5% may be considered as first-line treatment in well-instructed patients with external genital warts.