Furanocoumarins in seeds of wild and cultivated parsnip

The furanocoumarin content of ripe seeds of seven cultivars of Pastinaca sativa was compared to that of ripe seeds from a naturalized population in central Illinois. Five furanocoumarins were identified and quantified in the intact seeds. While seeds of wild and cultivated plants contain furanocoumarin components in identical proportions, seeds from wild plants contain almost three times the quantity of furanocoumarins on a dry weight basis as do seeds of cultivars.