Findings may help researchers develop a medication-friendly grapefruit

Grapefruit and pummelo contain compounds called furanocoumarins that may affect the blood levels of more than 100 prescription drugs, so people taking these medications are advised to remove these fruits from their diets.

Research published in New Phytologist reveals genetic information about the synthesis of furanocoumarins in different citrus plant tissues and species and provides new insights that could be used to develop grapefruit and pummelo that lack furanocoumarins.

The research indicates that the production of furanocoumarins in citrus fruit is dependent on the integrity of a single gene within a multi-gene cluster that encodes enzymes of the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase family.

"This research helps us to understand why fruit of certain citrus species produce furanocoumarins and demonstrates how breeders and researchers could develop furanocoumarin-free citrus varieties," said co–corresponding author Yoram Eyal, Ph.D., of the Volcani Center, in Israel.