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. 2020 Jan 5;10(1):87. doi: 10.3390/biom10010087

Table 4.

Anticancer potential of lichen extracts.

Lichen Acid/species Cell Lines Effects Reference
Extract of Umbilicaria crustulosa FemX, LS174 ↑ cytotoxicity (all tested extracts) [93]
Extract of Umbilicaria cylindrica
Extract of Umbilicaria polyphylla
Methanol extract of Lasallia pustulata FemX, LS174 ↑ cytotoxicity: FemX (IC50 46.66 μg/mL); LS174 (IC50 71.71 μg/mL) [94]
Extract of Parmelia caperata FemX, LS174 ↑ cytotoxicity (all tested extracts) [95]
Extract of Parmelia sulcata
Extract of Parmelia saxatilis
Extract of Parmotrema reticulatum MCF-7, A549, WI-38 ↑ cytotoxicity [96]
→ cell cycle arrest
Methanol extract of Cetraria islandica FemX, LS174 ↑ cytotoxicity: FemX (IC50 22.68 μg/mL); LS174 (IC50 33.74 μg/mL) [97]
Acetone extract of Parmelia arseneana FemX, LS174, A549, K562 ↑ cytotoxicity (IC50 11.61–47.06 μg/mL) [98]
Water extracts of Dermatocarpon vellereum, Umbilicaria vellea, Xanthoria elegans and Melanelia disjuncta HepG2, RKO ↑ cytotoxicity (all extracts, mainly L. alphoplaca and M. disjuncta) [99]
Methanol extracts of Melanelia disjuncta, Lobothallia alphoplaca and Xanthoparmelia stenophylla
Methanol extracts of Parmelia sulcata Taylor and Usnea filipendula Stirt A549, PC-3, Hep3B ↑ cytotoxicity (IC50 32.9–98.5 μg/mL) [100]
Rat glioma C6
→ genotoxicity
→ apoptotosis
Methanol extract of Hypogymnia physodes MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 ↑ anticancer and/or apoptosis-inducing (low concentration) effect [101]
↑ genotoxicity (high concentration)
Methanol extracts of Cladonia rangiformis and Cladonia convolute MCF-7 → apoptosis [102]
↓ proliferation
↑ cytoxicity
Acetone extract of Xanthoria parietina MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 ↓ proliferation [103]
↓ cell cycle
↑ apoptosis
Metanol extract of Parmelia sulcata MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 ↑ cytotoxicity MCF-7 (IC5039.1 μg/mL); MDA-MB-231 (IC50 16.5 μg/mL) [104]
→ apoptosis
Extracts of Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa and Tuckermannopsis ciliaris Human Burkitt’s lymphoma (Raji) → apoptosis [105]
→ cell arrest
↑ p53 expression
Acetone extracts of AGS, A549, MDCK P. gardneri: ↑ cytotoxicity of AGS (IC50 39.1 μg/mL), A549 (IC50 20.24 μg/mL), MDCK (IC50 66.35 μg/mL); Canoparmelia aptata: AGS (IC50 167.9 μg/mL), A549 (IC50 200 μg/mL) [106]
Parmotrema gardneri, Pannaria sp., and Canoparmelia aptata
Extract of Cladonia rangiformis MCF-7 ↑ cytotoxicity [107]
Extract of Cladonia convoluta
Caloplaca pusilla (on G-LBM medium) HeLa, MCF-7, PC-3 ↓ viability of MCF-7 (IC50 7.29 μg/mL), PC-3 (IC50 7.96 μg/mL), HeLa (IC50 6.57 μg/mL) [108]
→ apoptosis
Xanthoria parietina (on PDA and G-LBM) ↓ cancer cell viability of MCF-7, HeLa (IC50 about 8 μg/mL)
Methanol extract of Cladonia pocillumon MCF-7 apoptosis (concentration-dependent) [109]
Acetone extract of Pleurosticta acetabulum HT-29 ↑ cytotoxicity (IC50 after 48 h, 6 μg/mL) [110]
(cytochalasin E) ↓ proliferation
→ apoptosis
Polysaccharide from Umbilicaria esculenta A875, A375, HUVEC ↑ cytotoxicity of A875 and A375 [111]
↑ Annexin-V positive and TUNEL positive A875
→ apoptosis of A875 (ROS generation followed by ↑ caspase-3 and -9)
Acetone extracts of Cladonia furcata and Cladonia foliacea HeLa Extract of C. foliacea: ↑ cytotoxicity of A549 (IC50 13.58 μg/mL), LS174 (IC50 28.98 μg/mL) [112]
Human lung carcinoma A549 Extract of C. furcata: ↑ cytotoxicity of HeLa (IC50 11.69 μg/mL)
Human colon carcinoma LS174
Extract of Candelariella vitelline Caco-2 ↓ proliferation (Ki-67) [32]
→ apoptosis, ↑ necrosis (Caco-2, IC50 125 μg/mL)
↓ Bcl-2
↑ Bax, ↑CASP3 protein level
↑ Bax/Bcl-2 ratio
Methanol extract of Usnea intermedia A549, H1299 MCF7, MDA-MB-231 ↓ proliferation of H1299 (IC50 10.2 μg/mL) and MDA-MB-231 (IC50 3.0 μg/mL) [113]
→ apoptosis (phophatidylserine translocation, ↑ caspase 3/7 activity, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, formation of pyknotic nuclei)
Nemania serpens and Nemania aenea var. aureolatum (isolates of endolichenic fungi associated with the lichen Nephroma laevigatum) HT-29, HCT116, PC-3 and DU145 ↑ anticancer efficacy (IC50 13–39 μg/mL) [114]
→ apoptosis (activated caspase 3, 8, PARP cleavage, chromatin fragmentation)
Physcia cf. Milegrana HeLa, Vero ↑ cytotoxicity of HeLa (IC50 137 μg/mL) [115]

Explanatory notes: ↑ increase; ↓ decrease; → induction.