title: In vitro risk assessment of usnic acid.
abstract: Lichens are symbiotic organisms composed of fungi and algae and are very common in Turkey. Lichen secondary metabolites are mainly phenolic compounds produced by fungal partner of lichen symbiosis. Usnic acid (UA) is one of the most common lichen metabolites, and it was reported that to be effective for a wide range of pharmacological purposes including antiviral, antitumor, and antiprotozoal. However, there are limited data on the genotoxic and antioxidant effects of UA in cultured human peripheral blood cells. Therefore, the aim of this thesis study was to investigate the genetic and oxidative effects of UA in cultured human blood cells (n = 5). The UA was added into culture tubes at various concentrations (0-200 μg/ml). Chromosomal aberrations (CA) and micronuclei (MN) tests were performed for genotoxic damage influences estimation. In addition, biochemical parameters (total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative status (TOS)) were examined to determine oxidative effects. In our in vitro test systems, it was observed that UA had no mutagenic effects on human lymphocytes. Furthermore, our results indicated that low concentrations (1 and 5 μg/ml) of UA caused increases of TAC levels in cultured human blood cells. And, the TOS levels were not changed (p > 0.05) when all the concentrations (except for 200 μg/ml) of UA were applied. In conclusion, UA can be a new resource of therapeutics as recognized in this study with their nonmutagenic and antioxidant features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey zuhal.polat2013@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zühal
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elanur
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aydın
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Türkez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Kazim Karabekir Education Faculty, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aslan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000633:toxicity*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000187:drug effects*; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008011:Lichens; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; C073339:usnic acid
keywords: Human lymphocytes; chromosome aberration test; genotoxicity; micronucleus assay; oxidative status; usnic acid