Search Results (3)

Lichen-specific natural products exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which makes them potentially useful in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutritional industries. In the present study, a capillary electrophoresis method was developed and optimized for the separation of seven major metabolites, physodic acid, 3-hydroxyphysodic acid, atranorin, physodalic acid, chloroatranorin, salazinic acid, and protocetraric acid, found in Hypogymnia physodes. The optimization was performed using a design of experiments approach, focusing on four critical parameters: boric acid concentration, deoxycholic acid concentration, methanol content, and buffer pH. The overall separation efficiency was used as the response factor for optimization. The optimal separation conditions were achieved using a buffer composed of 60 mM boric acid, 70 mM deoxycholic acid, and 14% methanol at pH 9.6. The validated method was subsequently applied for the chemophenetic analysis of 28 lichen species belonging to the families Cladoniaceae, Parmeliaceae, Physciaceae, Ramalinaceae, and Teloschistaceae. In addition to the above-mentioned lichen compounds, the lichens examined showed the presence of evernic acid, usnic acid, and physicon. The developed CE method offers a reliable and efficient tool for the characterization of lichen metabolites, with potential applications in both botany and natural product research. Full article

The increasing incidence of dermatological diseases prompts the search for new natural methods of treatments, and lichens, with their special symbiotic structure, are a little-known and promising source of biologically active substances. Seven lichen species, Cladonia unicialis (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg. (Cladoniaceae), Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach. (Parmeliaceae), Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. (Parmaliaceae), Parmelia sulcata (Taylor) (Parmeliaceae), Physcia adscendens (Fr.) H. Olivier (Physciaceae), Pseudoevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf (Parmeliaceae), and Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. (Teloschistaceae), were used in our experiment. We identified different metabolites in the acetone extracts of all the lichen species. Based on the high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the content of lichen substances in the extracts was evaluated. The impact of the individual lichen-specific reference substances, compared to the lichen extracts, on the viability of keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) and fibroblasts (BJ cell line) and on the activity of selected skin-related enzymes was investigated. Our results revealed that only emodin anthrone at a concentration of 200 mg/L was cytotoxic to keratinocytes and fibroblasts in both cell viability assays. In turn, the C. uncialis extract was only cytotoxic to keratinocytes when used at the same concentration. The other tested treatments showed a positive effect on cell viability and no cytotoxicity or indeterminate cytotoxicity (shown in only one of the tests). Elastase and collagenase activities were inhibited by most of the lichen extracts. In turn, the individual lichen compounds (with the exception of evernic acid) generally had an undesirable stimulatory effect on hyaluronidase and collagenase activity. In addition, almost all the tested compounds and extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity. This suggests that some lichen compounds hold promise as potential ingredients in dermatological and skincare products, but their safety and efficacy require further study. The high cytotoxicity of emodin anthrone highlights its potential use in the treatment of hyperproliferative skin diseases such as psoriasis. Full article

Lendemeriella luteoaurantia B.G. Lee is described as a new lichen species from South Korea. The new species is identified by smaller, yellow-orange apothecia, larger ascospores with wider septum width, and the absence of Cinereorufa-green pigment and teloschistin, different from the closest species, L. aureopruinosa I.V. Frolov, Vondrák, Arup, Konoreva, S. Chesnokov, Yakovczenko and Davydov in morphology and chemistry. Molecular phylogeny employing internal transcribed spacer (nuITS), nuclear large subunit ribosomal RNA (nuLSU), and mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) sequences strongly supports the new species as nonidentical in the genus Lendemeriella. A preliminary key is provided to assist in the identification of all 10 species of Lendemeriella. Full article