sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cetraria islandica, Hypotrachyna, Lethariella, Parmeliaceae, Parmelia sulcata, Psora

Article ID: WMC003807 ISSN 2046-1690

Parmeliaceae- An Important Family of with Medicinal Importance

Corresponding Author: Dr. John O Igoli, Assistant Professor, Natural Product Laboratories, SIPBS, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street Glasgow G4 0RE, - United Kingdom

Submitting Author: Mr. Rajeev K Singla, Principal Investigator, Division of Biotechnology, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, University of Delhi, Azad Hind Fauz Marg, Sector-3, Dwarka-110078 - India

Article ID: WMC003807 Article Type: Review articles Submitted on:04-Nov-2012, 11:47:16 AM GMT Published on: 06-Nov-2012, 07:48:19 PM GMT Article URL: http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3807 Subject Categories:PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES Keywords:; ; Medicinal Plants; Herbal Plants; Traditional Medicine; Pharmacology How to cite the article:Kantheti P, Igoli JO, Gray AI, Clements CJ, Singla RK. Parmeliaceae- An Important Family of Lichens with Medicinal Importance . WebmedCentral PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES 2012;3(11):WMC003807 Copyright: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License(CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Source(s) of Funding: It is a net based article collecting and compiled data from google, google scholar, science direct, Springer, Wiley, Pub Med etc.

Competing Interests: No competing interests

WebmedCentral > Review articles Page 1 of 5 WMC003807 Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 06-Nov-2012, 07:48:20 PM

Parmeliaceae- An Important Family of Lichens with Medicinal Importance

Author(s): Kantheti P, Igoli JO, Gray AI, Clements CJ, Singla RK

Introduction non-pored or pored surface. Medulla is often loosely woven but sometimes it is solid. Lower surface is naked in only some genera for example , and . (literature at the burkes luck Life always coexists with disease, death and decay. lichen trail, supplied by professor dirk wessels of the To sustain a healthy and happy life, man has been university of the north) applying his knowledge to discover the remedies for prevention and treatment of diseases since the human Apothecia civilisation began. Plants were the natural sources Apothecia are lecanorine and they are produced along mainly on which people totally depended to fight the margin or lamina and pedicellate to sessile and against diseases when there was no alternative. sometimes sunken. Thalline exciple is concolourous The Parmeliaceae is the most diverse and large family with the thallus. Asci are amyloid along with the of the order . It has 87 genera which majority of having 8 spores per ascus, few have more than 2000 species. It is considered as the species have many spores and many species of largest family of fungi which forms lichens (These are Menegazzia have 2 spores per ascus. the fungi which has a symbiotic relationship with Spores algae). The main genera in the family are: Ascospores are often small, simple and hyaline. have more than 800 species, Usnea Conidia usually arise laterally from the joints of with more than 500 species, with more conidiogenous hyphae ( type), but arise than 350 species and with more than terminally from these joints in a small number of 190 species. species ( type). The conidia can have a wide Most of the members in the family have a symbiotic range of shapes from bacilliform to fusiform, cylindrical, relationship with algae. The majority of species in bifusiform, curved, unciform, sublageniform or filiform. Parmeliaceae have a fruticose, subfruticose or foliose Pycnidia are rarely emergent from the upper cortex or form of growth. The huge variation in morphology and immersed are produced along the margins or lamina, complexity is observed in members of this group. The pyriform shaped and can be seen from black to family can be found in a wide range of climatic regions dark-brown in colour. and and has a cosmopolitan distribution. They This family mostly contain lichens. Lichens are fungi can be found everywhere from alpine rocks to which forms a symbiotic relationship with green alga or roadside pavement, from subshrubs in the arctic blue green alga (cyanobacterium) or both. These can to tropical rainforest trees. Members of this be found almost in all type of habitats and substrates. family can be found in almost all kinds of terrestrial environments. Linnaeus recognised and classified nearly 80 species in 1753. Erik Acharius called the father of Characteristics of Structure was the first scientist who seriously studied lichens • Thallus and also described many new species but • Apothecia Schwendener was the one who discovered the dual nature of lichens in 1869 before that the green • Spores structures within lichen were believed to be gonads Thallus but were actually green alga .The estimated number of Parmeliaceae thallus is mostly fruticose, foliose or lichen species range from 13,000 to 30,000 worldwide. subfruticose but also can be caespitose, umblicate, The majority of the lichens belong to family peltate, subcrustose or crustose. They can be seen in in which spores are produced inside asci. different colours from green to yellow, whitish to grey, The evolution of lichens is very old; the oldest or brown to black. Many genera are lobe forming. evidence of fossil lichen is from the Rhyne chert Species are usually rhizinate on the lower surface formation in Scotland which dates back to 400 million occasionally with rhizohyphae, hypothallus, or years ago. holdfasts. Epicortex the upper surface may have

WebmedCentral > Review articles Page 2 of 5 WMC003807 Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 06-Nov-2012, 07:48:20 PM

In the lichen symbiosis, fungal partner is called Economic importance of Lichens mycobiont and algal partner is called photobiont. The Lichen is derived from the Greek word ‘Leprous’ and mycobiont protects photobiont against dehydration refers to medicine used for treatment of skin diseases and harmful UV radiations which enables the algal because of their appearance as peeling skin. Lichens partner to survive in habitats which would be generally are used as source of food in many regions. For inaccessible. The mycobiont is also responsible for the example islandica was used as food in shape and sexual reproductive structures of lichens. Northern Europe and was cooked as porridge, soup, The photobiont plays its role in carrying out bread, salad and pudding. Some lichens known as photosynthesis and producing carbohydrates which Earth Flowers have a strong and distinct odour so they are metabolised by . The characteristic unique are smoked along with tobacco used in summer secondary metabolite of lichen is actually produced by dances (Curtin, LSM. 1984). the mycobionts. If blue green alga is partner in Lichens such as fremoontii were mostly used symbiosis then the mycobiont can obtain nitrogen as food in times of famine in North America so they compounds because this alga is capable of fixing were called famine food. The extracts from lichens are atmospheric nitrogen. Generally nutrients and water used to dye wool and for production of ‘Harris Tweed’ are taken directly through the surface of the lichen of Scotland. They are also used in the manufacture of because of this they can even survive in low rainfall or ‘’ and ‘leather’ fragrances in perfumes and some moist regions. type of soaps (Richardson, D. H. S. 1974). In China, Lichens are of different shapes and forms .They lichens are used as food (Lobaria isidiophra, typically grows on bark, rock and soil but they can also L.yoshimurae) and also as health promoting tea grow on leaves, roof tiles, asphalt, metal surfaces and (Thamnolia subuliformis, cashmeriana). many other surfaces. Lichen body which is called Medicinal importance of Lichens thallus is composed of upper cortex containing tightly packed fungal hyphae below which is the The metabolites (mainly secondary) produced by photosynthetic algal layer. Below this layer is there is lichen exerts wide range of medicinal and biological loosely woven cottony layer of fungal hyphae called properties like antimycobacterial, antiproliferative, medulla where most of the secondary metabolites are antiviral, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, deposited as crystals. The fungal layer determines the analgesic and antipyretic effects. Though their secondary metabolites and is useful for identification. potential is known but they have not been explored fully (Muller, 2002).The secondary metabolites are the Compared to plants, lichens grow very slowly ranging main compounds that are utilised for medicinal from less than a millimetre per year in case of purposes (Boustie and Grube, 2005). micro-lichens to almost 10 cm per year in case of macro-lichens. Lichens are generally classified based According to estimation more than half of the lichens on their growth form which is artificial classification have antibiotic property (Sharnoff, 1997). system but used mainly for identifying lichens. extracted from many lichens demonstrated wide spectrum antibiotic activity (Shibamoto and Wei, 1984, The most common categories are crustose, fruticose Rowe et al. 1991). Vulpinic acid exhibited mild and foliose. Crustose lichens have a thallus which antibiotic activity (Lauterwein et al.1995). These acids forms a blotch on the substratum on which it grows inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, and is very difficult to remove without cutting a part of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus magaterium it. Fruticose lichens are bushy, pendulous or upright which are gram positive but did not have any effect on position. They are highly branched which helps in Escherichia coli which is gram negative (Lawrey, increasing the surface area. Foliose lichens appear 1986). Alectosaementin, alectoronic acid and physodic flattened with a distinguishable upper and lower acid were isolated from the alcoholic extract exhibited surface and they can be easily removed using a knife. antimicrobial activity (Gollapudi et al. 1994). In Australia approximately more than 3500 species of The extract from acetone, chloroform, diethyl ether, lichens have been recorded and more than 35% of petroleum ether and methanol of these are regarded as endemic (McCarthy 2009).They Taylor, Parmelia sulcata exhibited antibacterial activity are greatest in numbers in Queensland (1796 species) against Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans and many which also contains endemic (260species), followed other bacteria (Candan et al, 2007). Parietin and by NSW (1498 species) which contain 112 endemic anthraquinone isolated from Caloplaca cerina species, then by Tasmania (1063 species) which methanol extract have demonstrated antifungal activity contains 102 endemic species. (Manojlovic, 2005). Phenolic constituents from lichen

WebmedCentral > Review articles Page 3 of 5 WMC003807 Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 06-Nov-2012, 07:48:20 PM

Parmotrema stuppeum include orsennilic acid, methyl 62(7-8):619-21. orsenillate, lecanoric acid and atranorin exhibited 13. Manojlovic NT et al. 2005. Antifungal activity of antioxidant activity (Jayaprakasha and Rao, 2000). Rubia tinctorum, Rhamnus frangula and Caloplaca cerina. Fitoterapia 76(2):244-6. Acknowledgement 14. Jayapraksha GK, Rao LJ. 2000. Phenolic constituents from the lichen Parmotrema stuppeum (Nyl.) Hale and their antioxidant activity. Zeitschrift für Author Rajeev K Singla is receiving Young Scientist Naturforschung 55(11-12):1018-22. Fellowship from Science & Engineering Research Board(Department of Science & Technology), Government of India. References

1. McCarthy, P.M. (2009), Checklist of the Lichens of Australia and its Island Territories. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Version 22, October 2009. 2. Curtin, LSM. 1984. EthnoDescription of the Pima (By the Prophet of the Earth). Univ. of Arizona Press. Page 77. 3. Richardson, D. H. S. 1974. Vanishing Lichens. Their History, Biology and Importance. 231 pp. HafnerPress, New York. 4. Muller K. 2002. Pharmaceutically relevant metabolites from lichens. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 56(1/2): 9-16. 5. Boustie J, Grube M. (2005). Lichens-a promising source of bioactive secondary metabolites. Plant Genetic Resources 3:273-278. 6. Sharnoff, S. D. 1997. Lichens and people 7. Shibamoto T, Wei CI. 1984. Mutagenicity of lichen constituents. Environmental Mutagenesis 6: 757-762. 8. Rowe G et al. 1999. Some lichen products have antimicrobial activity. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 54(7-8):605-9. 9. Lauterwein M et al. 1995. In vitro activities of the lichen secondary metabolites vulpinic acid, (+)-usnic acid, and (-)-usnic acid against aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 39(11): 2541-2543. 10. Lawrey JD. 1986. Biological role of lichen substances. The Bryologist 89:111-122. Cocchietto M, Skert N, Nimis PL. 2002. A review on usnic acid, an interesting natural compound. Naturwissenschaften 89: 137-146. 11. Gollapudi SR et al. 1994. Alectosaementin, a new antimicrobial dibenzofuranoid lactol from the lichen, sarmentosa. Journal of Natural Product 57(7):934-8. 12. Candan, M et al. 2007. Antimicrobial activity of extracts of the lichen Parmelia sulcata and its salazinic acid constituent. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung

WebmedCentral > Review articles Page 4 of 5 WMC003807 Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 06-Nov-2012, 07:48:20 PM

Disclaimer

This article has been downloaded from WebmedCentral. With our unique author driven post publication peer review, contents posted on this web portal do not undergo any prepublication peer or editorial review. It is completely the responsibility of the authors to ensure not only scientific and ethical standards of the manuscript but also its grammatical accuracy. Authors must ensure that they obtain all the necessary permissions before submitting any information that requires obtaining a consent or approval from a third party. Authors should also ensure not to submit any information which they do not have the copyright of or of which they have transferred the copyrights to a third party. Contents on WebmedCentral are purely for biomedical researchers and scientists. They are not meant to cater to the needs of an individual patient. The web portal or any content(s) therein is neither designed to support, nor replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician. Your use of the WebmedCentral site and its contents is entirely at your own risk. We do not take any responsibility for any harm that you may suffer or inflict on a third person by following the contents of this website.

WebmedCentral > Review articles Page 5 of 5