Dibenzofurans from Lichens – A Pharmacological Overview

Title:Dibenzofurans from Lichens – A Pharmacological Overview

Volume: 21 Issue: 26

Author(s): Isabel Ureña-Vacas, Elena González Burgos, Pradeep Kumar Divakar and Maria Pilar Gómez-Serranillos*

Affiliation:

• Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Complutense of Madrid, Madrid,Spain

Keywords: Dibenzofurans, Lichens, Pharmacology, Activities, Secondary metabolites, Orsellinic acid.

Abstract: Lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus (mycobiont) and a green algae/- cyanobacterium (photobiont). Lichens are a source of secondary metabolites, most of them being exclusively for these species, among which dibenzofurans are found. Dibenzofurans are a small group (over 35 different identified compounds), being usnic acid the most studied. In the last 10 years, there has been a growing interest in the pharmacological activity of dibenzofurans. In this work, dibenzofurans isolated from lichens (alectosarmentin, condidymic acid, didymic acid, isousnic acid, isostrepsilic acid, usimines A-C and usnic acid) were reviewed, most of which showed antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities. These findings provide future guidance for research on pharmacological activity of dibenzofurans.

Cite this article as:

Ureña-Vacas Isabel, Burgos González Elena , Divakar Kumar Pradeep and Gómez-Serranillos Pilar Maria *, Dibenzofurans from Lichens – A Pharmacological Overview, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2021; 21 (26) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026621666210728095214