Abstract
Lichens are a form of symbiont between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium, which contains a wide variety of organic compounds with certain secondary metabolite classes typical of these organisms. The Ramalina genus has approximately 246 species distributed around the World, of which in this review approximately 118 species with published chemical or biological activity studies of extracts or isolated compounds were cited. From the 153 mentioned compounds, only 27 passed were tested for biological activity, being usnic acid the most studied compound and the one showing the best results in almost all in vitro tests performed, although other compounds also presented excellent results as antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory agents, among others. Extracts of several species also presented significant results in performed biological tests, demonstrating the potential that these organisms have, in particular, the gender Ramalina, to produce bioactive molecules that can be used as a model for the production of pharmaceuticals.
Highlights
IntroductionIn 2005 this estimate rose to 18,500 different species around the World
The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of methanolic extracts from five lichenized fungi species were tested by Gulluce et al [144], and the results showed that the extracts of R. polymorpha and R. pollinaria inhibited 10 and 11 bacterial species, respectively, from a total of 35 tested species
The results demonstrated that usnic acid (17) reduced the production of Junin virus in infected Vero cells in a dependent dose manner, and 50% inhibition was obtained at an effective concentration (EC50) of 9.9 μM
Summary
In 2005 this estimate rose to 18,500 different species around the World This demonstrates, in addition to the diversity, the great interest that researchers have been increasing in the study of these special organisms [2]. Lichenized fungi are well known for the diversity of secondary metabolites that they produce [1,4]. This diversity of compounds has made the study of their chemistry attractive since the beginning of organic chemistry, from 1830 to the present day [1].
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