Umbilicaria Esculenta Research Articles

Neuroprotective effects of biogenic silver nanoparticles in Parkinson's disease: In vitro and in vivo study

The study aimed to develop immunomodulatory silver nanoparticles (CHT-PCT/AgNPs) using a green chemistry approach with Umbilicaria esculenta (U.E.) extract to protect neurons from Parkinson's disease. The synthesized CHT-PCT/AgNPs measured 88.2 ± 33.7 nm in size, with a zeta potential of approximately 24.5 ± 1.9 mV. In vitro assays demonstrated that the green-synthesized nanoparticles exhibited greater biocompatibility and antioxidant properties compared to chemically synthesized AgNPs. The MTT assay indicated that CHT-PCT/AgNPs were cytocompatible up to 50 μg/mL, but higher concentrations resulted in significant toxicity. The DPPH assay revealed dose-dependent antioxidant activity, although it was lower than that of ascorbic acid. In animal studies of MPTP-induced Parkinsonism, the count of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive cells varied across groups, with healthy controls showing 145.3 ± 11.0 cells compared to the negative control group with only 21.6 ± 4.1. Additionally, the number of DRD1-positive cells also reflected a similar trend. These findings suggest that CHT-PCT/AgNPs may serve as a potential neuroprotective agent to mitigate Parkinson's disease.

Study on the Protective Effect and Mechanism of Umbilicaria esculenta Polysaccharide in DSS-Induced Mice Colitis and Secondary Liver Injury.

This study aimed to explore the ameliorative effects and potential mechanisms of Huangshan Umbilicaria esculenta polysaccharide (UEP) in dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute ulcerative colitis (UC) and UC secondary liver injury (SLI). Results showed that UEP could ameliorate both colon and liver pathologic injuries, upregulate mouse intestinal tight junction proteins (TJs) and MUC2 expression, and reduce LPS exposure, thereby attenuating the effects of the gut-liver axis. Importantly, UEP significantly downregulated the secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 through inhibition of the NF-κB pathway and activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway to increase the expression levels of SOD and GSH-Px. In vitro, UEP inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of NF-κB P65 and promoted nuclear translocation of Nrf2 in RAW264.7 cells. These results revealed that UEP ameliorated UC and SLI through NF-κB and Nrf2-mediated inflammation and oxidative stress. The study first investigated the anticolitis effect of UEP, suggesting its potential for the treatment of colitis and colitis-associated liver disease.

Umbilicaria esculenta Extract Exhibits Antiwrinkle Activity by Suppressing ErbB2 Phosphorylation.

Umbilicaria esculenta (UE), an edible lichen, is widespread in northeast Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Korea. In the present study, we examined the antiwrinkle activity of UE. We observed that the UE extract (UEE) suppressed ultraviolet (UV)-induced matrix metalloprotein-1 (MMP-1) expression and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) and human skin tissue. In addition, UEE reversed the UV-induced decrease in collagen in the human skin tissue. Excessive and chronic UV exposure is a key factor underlying skin wrinkle formation via MMP-1 expression. As treatment with UEE disrupted the UV-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, we applied an antibody array to unveil the underlying mechanism of UEE. Interestingly, UEE treatment inhibited ErbB2 phosphorylation, but not epidermal growth factor receptor phosphorylation, a heterodimerization partner with ErbB2. Furthermore, UEE treatment enhanced UV-suppressed phosphatase activity via ROS suppression. Collectively, our findings indicate that UEE enhances ErbB2 dephosphorylation to suppress UV-induced MMP-1 expression.

Purification, structural characterization and immunostimulatory activity of polysaccharides from Umbilicaria esculenta

In this study, an active component UP1-1 was isolated from Chinese Huangshan Umbilicaria esculenta via hot water extraction and purified by anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. UP1-1 mainly composed of galactose, mannose and glucose in a molar ratio of 0.8:1.0:4.6 with an average molecular weight of 281 kDa. Methylation analysis of UP1-1 revealed the major glycosidic bonds comprised 1,6-linked Glcp, 1,4-linked Glcp, t-linked Glcp, 1,3,6-linked Manp, 1,3-linked Galp, t-linked Galp at the ratio of 2.28:0.38:0.32:0.63:0.25:0.29. Structural analysis results revealed that the backbone of UP1-1 consisted of →6)-β-D-Glcp-(1→, →6)-β-D-Manp-(1→, →4)-β-D-Glcp-(1 → residues with side chains of →3)-β-D-Galp-(1→, β-D-Galp-(1 → and β-D-Glcp-(1 → branches located at O-3 position of →6)-β-D-Manp-(1→. Immunostimulatory activity tests showed that UP1-1 could promote the phagocytic activity and NO production of RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. UP1-1 could significantly improve the proliferation effect of RAW 264.7 cells at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. Thus, UP1-1 exerted good immunostimulatory activity, suggesting that UP1-1 has a great potential application in pharmacological industry.

Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury contents of mushroom species in Korea and associated health risk

ABSTRACT Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury contents of Ganoderma lucidum, Phellinus linteus, Umbilicaria esculenta, Trametes versicolor, Agaricus blazei, Hericium erinaciium, Paecilomyces japonica, Fuscoporia obliqua, Sarcodon imbricatu and Hypsizygus marmoreus mushroom samples from the South Korean market were analyzed using validated methods. Method validation was performed, and the limits of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.38–0.66 and 1.21–2.09 μg/kg, respectively. The recoveries of the target metals ranged from 91.3% to 103.5%. The contents of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were significantly different among the ten mushroom species, and the ranged from 0.006 to 3.9, 0.025 to 5.8, 0.01 to 0.21, and 0.004 to 12.3 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. Additionally, the estimated daily exposures to these metals from consumption of mushroom used in this work were found to be safe in accordance with the provisional tolerable weekly intake. Considering the results in this study, it could be mentioned that the consumption of the ten mushrooms species from Korea presented no noticeable health risk to the general public.

Study on the immunomodulatory activity of a novel polysaccharide from the lichen Umbilicaria Esculenta

Umbilicaria esculenta possesses nutritional properties, such as antioxidant, antithrombotic and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity. The immune effects of its polysaccharide (Umbilicaria esculenta polysaccharide, UEP) on murine macrophages RAW264.7 were investigated for the first time. UEP promoted their proliferation and phagocytic activity obviously. At the concentration of 600 μg mL−1, UEP stimulated their proliferation and phagocytosis to 1.4 and 2.5 times, respectively, as compared with the negative group. Moreover, UEP induced their release of nitric oxide (NO), NO synthase (NOS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10) in a concentration-dependent manner. The production of NO and NOS was increased to 25.2 and 2.7 times, respectively, while the secretion of those cytokines was enhanced to multiples from 1.9 to 2.6 times. At the same time, TAK242, an inhibitor of TLR4 (Toll-like receptor 4), inhibited UEP influences on these factors with inhibition rates up to 50%, which indicated that UEP acted on murine macrophages mainly via TLR4. UEP has positive immunomodulatory functions in murine macrophages, and can be developed as a potential novel immunomodulator.

The Polysaccharide Extracted from Umbilicaria esculenta Inhibits Proliferation of Melanoma Cells through ROS-Activated Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway.

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers with an increasing rate of morbidity. Umbilicaria esculenta is an edible lichen and its main component of extracts-polysaccharide (PUE) has shown significant antitumor effects in a variety of cancer types such as stomach adenocarcinoma. However, whether it has an anti-melanoma effect and the underlying mechanism has not been revealed. In this article, we showed that PUE extracted from Umbilicaria esculenta could inhibit the growth of A875 and A375 melanoma cells but without obvious toxicity to normal vascular endothelial cells. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in A875 cells was significantly elevated when treated with PUE for 24h. In addition, the expression of caspase-3 and -9 also increased as compared to the controlled group which resulted in the apoptosis of A875 melanoma cells. In the meantime, when pre-treated with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the ROS scavenger, PUE induced apoptosis and cell death could be reversed via suppression of elevated generation of ROS and ROS-mediated caspase-9 expression. In summary, our study demonstrated that PUE extracts from Umbilicaria esculenta have a potent anti-melanoma effect through the induction of ROS and caspases-3 and -9. It could provide a promising strategy of melanoma therapy with the components from the extracts of natural and edible plants such as lichen Umbilicaria esculenta.

Enrichment, purification and in vitro antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Umbilicaria esculenta macrolichen

Umbilicaria esculenta as an edible macrolichen possesses nutritional properties, such as antioxidant, immune-boosting, and lipid peroxidation inhibitory properties. A new enrichment and separation technology for the polysaccharides from Umbilicaria esculenta (UEP) with AB-8 resin was established, and its adsorption data were well fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, with a process of monolayer coverage of UEP onto it. After purification by DEAE (diethylaminoethyl) Cellulose-52 chromatography, two polysaccharide fractions (UEP-1, UEP-2) were obtained and characterized. UEP-1 was composed of mannose, rhamnose, glucose and galactose in a molar ratio of 0.59:3.12:93.09:3.20 with a molecular weight of 124.7kD, while UEP-2 comprised mannose and glucose in a molar ratio of 20.66:79.34 with a molecular weight of 249.4kD. With DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2′-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate), superoxide anion, and hydroxyl scavenging capacities as indices, their antioxidative assays in vitro indicated that the polysaccharides exhibited the very strong scavenging activities in a concentration-dependent manner. It was worth expecting that UEP could be developed as a novel potential functional component in food industries.

Structure Elucidation of a Polysaccharide from Umbilicaria esculenta and Its Immunostimulatory Activity.

Umbilicaria esculenta has been used as a tonic food in China for several centuries owing to its pleasant flavor and health benefits. In this study, a water soluble polysaccharide, which we designated as UP2, with an average molecular weight of 3.33 × 105 Da, was isolated from U. esculenta cultivated in the Huangshan Mountain, by consecutive hot water extraction and anion-exchange chromatography. Gas chromatography analysis indicated that UP2 contained three kinds of monosaccharides, including mannose, glucose, and galactose at a molar ratio of 1.7:1.0:1.2. Linkage analysis of UP2 revealed the presence of (1 → 6)-linked glucosyl, (1 → 3,6)-linked glucosyl, t-linked galactosyl, (1 → 6)-linked galactosyl and (1 → 6)-linked mannosyl at a molar ratio of 0.7:4.6:4.1:2.2:9.1. Structural analysis determined that UP2 possessed a backbone consisting of (1 → 6)-linked β-D-glucopyranosyl and (1 → 6)-linked α-D-mannopyranosyl residues, which substituted at the O-3 position of (1 → 6)-linked β-D-glucopyranosyl residues by branches of (1 → 6)-linked α-D-galactopyranosyl and 1-linked β-D-galactopyranosyl residues. Immunostimulatory activity analysis showed that UP2 could stimulate the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and all the samples (20–500 μg/mL) were found to enhance nitric oxide production. The highest phagocytic activity of UP2 was observed at 200 μg/mL. Thus, UP2 may be a potential source of biological and pharmacological agents.

Lectotypification of the name Umbilicaria esculenta

The protologue and typification of the name Umbilicaria esculenta [≡ Gyrophora esculenta], an East Asian lichen-forming fungus, are discussed. The lectotype is designated from the Miyoshi collection deposited in TNS.

자몽씨 추출물을 첨가한 석이버섯주의 저장 중 품질 특성

석이버섯과 한방재료를 첨가하여 만든 숙성된 석이버섯주에 grapefruit seed extract(GSE)를 0.5%, 1% 첨가하여 4°C는 165일간, 25°C 75일간 저장하면서 약주의 저장성과 품질 특성에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 품질 특성은 pH, 총산도, 탁도, 일반세균수 및 ethanol, glucose, acetic acid, lactic acid 함량을 분석하였다. GSE 무첨가 약주는 저장중 pH, 총산도, 탁도, acetic acid, lactic acid가 급격하게 증가한 반면에 GSE 0.5%, 1% 첨가 약주는 미미하게 증가하여 큰 변화 양상을 보이지 않았으며 GSE 무첨가 대조군과 유의적인 차이를 보였다(P0.05). 일반세균수는 대조군보다 GSE 첨가군에서 유의하게 적었으며(P0.05), 모든 시험군에서 대장균, 효모 · 곰팡이는 검출되지 않았다. Ethanol 함량은 저장 중 조금씩 증가하였고, glucose 함량은 저장중 약간 감소하였으나 저장 중 큰 변화는 없었으며, ethanol, glucose 함량 모두 대조군과 GSE 첨가군의 유의적인 차이는 없었다. 따라서 식품규격에 따라 품질 유지기한이 25°C는 3개월, 4°C는 6개월까지 섭취가 가능할 것으로 판단되며 이로써 GSE는 약주의 저장성 향상 및 품질 증진에 효과적인 것으로 사료된다.

Antioxidative effects of enzymatic hydrolysates of Umbilicaria esculenta

Umbilicaria esculenta is a lichen of the genus Umbilicaria that grows on rocks. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea. It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a food source and medicine. The antioxidative effects of enzymatic hydrolysates from Umbilicaria esculenta (U. esculenta) was evaluated by measuring 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and alkyl radical scavenging activities using an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer. In addition, protection effect on H2O2-induced DNA and cell damage. In our study, U. esculenta was enzymatically hydrolyzed by seven carbohydrases and eight proteinases. Flavourzyme hydrolysates from U. esculenta showed clearly superior alkyl radical scavenging activity and yield. In addition, flavourzyme hydrolysates from U. esculenta showed protective effect on DNA damage and cell death in PC-12 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative damage in a dose dependent manner. These results indicate that enzymatic hydrolysates of U. esculenta possess potential antioxidative activity.

Distribution patterns of haplotypes for symbionts from Umbilicaria esculenta and U. muehlenbergii reflect the importance of reproductive strategy in shaping population genetic structure.

BackgroundThe diversity of lichen fungal components and their photosynthetic partners reflects both ecological and evolutionary factors. In present study, molecular investigations of the internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS nrDNA) region were conducted to analyze the genetic diversity of Umbilicaria esculenta and U. muehlenbergii together with their associated green algae.ResultIt was here demonstrated that the reproductive strategy is a principal reason for fungal selectivity to algae. U. muehlenbergii, which disperses via sexual spores, exhibits lower selectivity to its photosynthetic partners than U. esculenta, which has a vegetative reproductive strategy. The difference of genotypic diversity (both fungal and algal) between these two Umbilicaria species is low, although their nucleotide diversity can vary greatly.ConclusionsThe present study illustrates that lichen-forming fungi with sexual reproductive strategies are less selective with respect to their photobionts; and reveals that both sexual and vegetative reproduction allow lichens to generate similar amounts of diversity to adapt to the environments. The current study will be helpful for elucidating how lichens with different reproductive strategies adapt to changing environments.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0527-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Polysaccharides from Umbilicaria esculenta cultivated in Huangshan Mountain and immunomodulatory activity

Umbilicaria esculenta cultivated in Huangshan Mountain (HSSE) is precious edible and medicinal lichen. In this study, four polysaccharide fractions designated as UEP1, UEP2, UEP3, and UEP4 were isolated from HSSE with water extraction at different temperature. The physico-chemical properties and immunomodulatory activities of polysaccharide fractions were investigated. The results indicated that UEP1, UEP2, UEP3 and UEP4 were acid polysaccharide with 0.50%, 0.62%, 0.63%, and 0.83% of uronic acid contents, respectively. Four polysaccharide fractions were mainly composed of glucose, galactose and mannose with different molar ratio. In the in vitro immunomodulatory assay, all the polysaccharide fractions (20–500μg/mL) could increase the NO production and phagocytic activity of RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. This work demonstrated that the polysaccharides from HSSE could be used as potential biological response modifier.

Study on the antithrombotic activity of Umbilicaria esculenta polysaccharide

Umbilicaria esculenta as a traditional food is known to have many pharmacological activities, such as cholesterol synthesis inhibition, anti-inflammation and anti-tumor. The antithrombotic activities of UEP isolated from the lichen were examined in vitro and in vivo for the first time. The in vitro anticoagulant activity of UEP was tested by its PT, APTT and TT. The more prolongation of APTT suggested a more obvious inhibition of the intrinsic coagulation systems than the extrinsic. Its antithrombotic properties were evaluated using an arteriovenous shunt thrombosis model in rats, and its inhibition of thrombus formation increased in a dose-dependent manner. It also caused a dose-dependent increase in tail transection bleeding time. Oral administration of UEP also showed a significant dose dependent preventive effect against thrombotic death or paralysis. UEP has a potent antithrombotic effect in vitro and in vivo, which may be used as a novel, effective and promising antithrombotic agent.

Telomerase inhibitory effects of medicinal mushrooms and lichens, and their anticancer activity.

Telomerase has been widely accepted as a cancer marker and a promising therapeutic target for novel anticancer drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro telomerase inhibitory effects of mushrooms and their anticancer properties. The inhibitory effects of mushrooms and lichens against telomerase activity of HL-60 cells were systematically assessed using polymerase chain reaction based on assay of telomeric repeat amplification protocol. Telomerase inhibitory samples were further tested for antiproliferation effects against the gastric cell line SNU-1 using the MTT method. Ethyl acetate extract of Pleurotus ostreatus, ethyl acetate and water extracts of Lasiosphaera fenzlii, hexane extract of Strobilomyces floccopus, water extract of Sarcodon aspratus, and hexane, ethyl acetate, and water extracts from Umbilicaria esculenta showed strong positive telomerase inhibitory activity. Hexane extract of S. floccopus and water extracts from the edible lichen U. esculenta exhibited strong anticancer effects against SNU-1 cells through antiproliferation assay. The water extract of U. esculenta has a great potential to be developed into an anticancer agent that targets telomerase.

Crystal Structure Characterization of Natural Allantoin from Edible Lichen Umbilicaria esculenta

In China, Korea, and Japan, Umbilicaria esculenta is considered as both food and medicinal resources from lichen. In the current study, a prismatic crystal was first isolated from edible lichen U. esculenta via solvent fractionation. The structure of the crystalline compound was elucidated as allantoin using single-crystal X-ray crystallographic and spectroscopic techniques. In light of the wide use of synthesized allantoin in cosmetic industry as a skin protectant, the biological origin of the allantoin isolated from natural food stuff edible lichen has great potential to be developed into functional cosmetics. Current findings also provided useful information for ecologists to further explore the role of lichen and allantoin in nitrogen metabolism.

Dendritic Cell Activation by Glucan Isolated fromUmbilicaria Esculenta

BackgroundLichen-derived glucans have been known to stimulate the functions of immune cells. However, immunostimulatory activity of glucan obtained from edible lichen, Umbilicaria esculenta, has not been reported. Thus we evaluated the phenotype and functional maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) following treatment of extracted glucan (PUE).MethodsThe phenotypic and functional maturation of PUE-treated DCs was assessed by flow cytometric analysis and cytokine production, respectively. PUE-treated DCs was also used for mixed leukocyte reaction to evaluate T cell-priming capacity. Finally we detected the activation of MAPK and NF-κB by immunoblot.ResultsPhenotypic maturation of DCs was shown by the elevated expressions of CD40, CD80, CD86, and MHC class I/II molecules. Functional activation of DCs was proved by increased cytokine production of IL-12, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-α/β, decreased endocytosis, and enhanced proliferation of allogenic T cells. Polymyxin B, specific inhibitor of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), did not affect PUE activity, which suggested that PUE was free of LPS contamination. As a mechanism of action, PUE increased phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPKs, and enhanced nuclear translocation of NF-κB p50/p65 in DCs.ConclusionThese results indicate that PUE induced DC maturation via MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Nutritional and Physicochemical Characteristics of the Antidementia Acetylcholinesterase-Inhibiting Methanol Extracts from Umbilicaria esculenta

To develop new antidementia nutraceuticals, a potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-inhibiting extract was screened from various extracts of nutritional mushrooms and lichens nutritional and its physicochemical properties were investigated. Among the several extracts tested, methanol extracts of Umbilicaria esculenta fruiting body showed the highest AChE inhibitory activity of 22.4%. U. esculenta AChE inhibitor was maximally extracted when fruiting bodies were treated with 80% methanol at 40°C for 18 h. The methanol extracts contained 18.9% crude lipid, 18.8% crude protein, and 11.6% total sugar. In addition, they contained 444 mg/g glutamic acid, 44 mg/g histidine, and 41 mg/g aspartic acid. The methanol extracts were soluble in a solution of methanol and 20% dimethylsulfoxide, insoluble in n-hexane, chloroform, and water, and were stable at 20~60°C and pH 1.0~5.0 for 1 h.

Antifungal Activity of Lichen-forming Fungi against Colletotrichum acutatum on Hot Pepper

Antifungal activity of Korean and Chinese lichen-forming fungi (LFF) was evaluated against plant pathogenic fungus of Colletotrichum acutatum, causal agent of anthracnose on hot pepper. This is the first attempt to evaluate antifungal activity of LFF, instead of lichen thalli, against C. acutatum. Total 100 LFF were isolated from the lichens with discharged spore method or tissue culture method. Among the 100 isolates, 8 LFF showed more than 50% of inhibition rates of mycelial growth of the target pathogen. Especially, Lecanora argentata was highly effective in inhibition of mycelial growth of C. accutatum at the rate of 68%. Antifungal activity of other LFF was in the order of Cetrelia japonica (61.4%), Ramalina conduplicans (59.5%), Umbilicaria esculenta (59.5%), Ramalina litoralis (56.7%), Cetrelia braunsiana (56.5%), Nephromopsis pallescensn (56.1%), and Parmelia simplicior (53.8%). Among the tested LFF, 61 isolates of LFF exhibited moderate antifungal activity against the target pathogen at the inhibition rates from 30 to 50%. Antifungal activity of the LFF against C. acutatum was variable at the species level rather than genus level of LFF. This study suggests that LFF can be served as a promising bioresource to develop novel biofungicides.