Lichexanthone is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as xanthones. Lichexanthone was first isolated and identified by Japanese chemists from a species of leafy lichen in the 1940s. The compound is known to occur in many lichens, and it is important in the taxonomy of species in several genera, such as Pertusaria and Pyxine. More than a dozen lichen species have a variation of the word lichexanthone incorporated as part of their binomial name. The presence of lichexanthone in lichens causes them to fluoresce a greenish-yellow colour under long-wavelength UV light; this feature is used to help identify some species. Lichexanthone is also found in several plants (many are from the families Annonaceae and Rutaceae), and some species of fungi that do not form lichens.
In lichens, the biosynthesis of lichexanthone occurs through a set of enzymatic reactions that start with the molecule acetyl-CoA and sequentially add successive units, forming a longer chain that is cyclized into a double-ring structure. Although it has been suggested that lichexanthone functions in nature as a photoprotectant—protecting resident algal populations (photobionts) in lichens from high-intensity solar radiation—its complete ecological function is not fully understood. Some biological activities of lichexanthone that have been demonstrated in the laboratory include antibacterial, larvicidal, and sperm motility-enhancing activities. Many lichexanthone derivatives are known, some produced naturally in lichens, and others created synthetically; like lichexanthone, some of these derivatives are also biologically active.
History
Lichexanthone was first reported by Japanese chemists Yasuhiko Asahina and Hisasi Nogami in 1942. They isolated the lichen product from Parmelia formosana[2] (known today as Hypotrachyna osseoalba), a lichen that is widespread in Asia.[3] Another early publication described its isolation from Parmelia quercina (now Parmelina quercina[4]).[5] Lichexanthone was the first xanthone to be reported from lichens,[6] and it was given its name by Asahina and Nogami for this reason.[2]
Asahina and Nogami used a chemical method called potash fusion (decomposition with a hot solution of the strong base potassium hydroxide) on lichexanthone to produce orcinol.[2] The earliest syntheses of lichexanthone used orsellinic aldehyde and phloroglucinol as starting reactants in the Tanase method.[7] This method, one of six standard ways of synthesising xanthone derivatives, enables the creation of partially methylated polyhydroxyxanthones.[8] In the reaction, the two substrates, in the presence of hydrochloric acid and acetic acid, produce a fluorone derivative that is subsequently reduced to give a xanthene derivative, which, after subsequent methylation and oxidation, leads to a xanthone with three methoxy groups. Afterwards, one of the methoxy groups is demethylated to yield lichexanthone.[2] A simpler synthesis, starting from everninic acid (2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-6-methylbenzoic acid) and phloroglucinol,[7] was proposed in 1956.[9] These early syntheses also helped to confirm the structure of lichexanthone before spectral methods of analysis were widely available.[6] In 1977, Harris and Hay proposed a biogenetically modelled synthesis of lichexanthone starting from the polycarbonyl compound 3,5,7,9,11,13-hexaoxotetradecanoic acid. In this synthesis, an aldolcyclization between positions 8 and 13 followed by a Claisen cyclization between positions 1 and 6 leads to the formation of a group of compounds that includes lichexanthone.[10]
A standardized high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay has been described to identify many lichen-derived substances, including lichexanthone and many other xanthones; because many xanthone isomers have different retention times, this technique can be used to identify complex mixtures of structurally similar derivatives.[26] The technique was later refined to couple the HPLC output with a photodiode array detector to screen for xanthones based on their specific ultraviolet–visible spectra. In this way, lichexanthone is detected by monitoring its retention time, and verifying the presence of three peaks representing wavelengths of maximum absorption (λmax) at 208, 242, and 310 nm.[27]
Occurrence
Although first isolated from foliose (leafy) Parmelia species, lichexanthone has since been found in a wide variety of lichens. For example, in the foliose genus Hypotrachyna, it is found in about a dozen species; when present, it usually completely replaces other cortical substances common in that genus, like atranorin and usnic acid.[12] The presence or absence of lichexanthone is a character used in classifying species of the predominantly tropical genus Pyxine; of about 70 species in the genus, 20 contain lichexanthone. This represents the largest group of foliose lichens with the compound, as it is generally restricted to some groups of tropical crustose lichens, chiefly pyrenocarps and Graphidaceae.[28] The large genus Pertusaria relies heavily on thallus chemistry to distinguish and classify species, some of which differ only in the presence or absence of a single secondary chemical. Lichexanthone, norlichexanthone, and their chlorinated derivatives are common in this genus.[29]
Although normally considered a secondary metabolite of lichens, lichexanthone has also been isolated from several plants, listed here organized by family:
Lichexanthone has also been reported to occur in the bark of Faramea cyanea, although in that case it was suspected to have originated from a lichen growing on the bark.[46] Additionally, two non-lichenised fungus species, Penicillium persicinum[47] and Penicillium vulpinum,[48] can synthesize lichexanthone.
Xanthones are known to have strong UV-absorbing properties.[20] In experiments using laboratory-grown mycobionts from the lichen Haematomma fluorescens, the synthesis of lichexanthone was induced when young mycelia were exposed to long-wavelength UV light (365 nm) for three to four hours every week over a time span of three to four months. In the natural lichen, the compound is present in both the outer cortical layer of the thallus and in the exciple (rim) of the ascomata. Lichexanthone may function as a light filter to protect the UV-sensitive algal layer in lichens from high-intensity solar radiation.[49] The presence of the photoprotective chemical in the cortex may allow them to survive in otherwise inhospitable habitats, like on exposed trees in tropical areas or high mountains.[50] It has been pointed out, however, that lichexanthone is also found in lichens living in less stressed environments, and from species that are in families where cortical substances are rare. In some instances, similar or related species exist that lack cortical substances entirely, suggesting that the actual ecological function of lichexanthone is not fully understood.[51]
Related compounds
Norlichexanthone (1,3,6-trihydroxy-8-methylxanthone) differs from lichexanthone in having hydroxy rather than methoxy groups at positions 3 and 6.[11] In griseoxanthone C (1,6-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-8-methylxanthen-9-one), the methoxy at position 6 of lichexanthone is replaced with a hydroxy.[20] Dozens of chlorinated lichexanthone derivatives have been reported, some isolated from a variety of lichen species, and some produced synthetically. These derivatives are variously mono-, bi-, or trichlorinated with the chlorines at positions 2, 4, 5, and 7.[6] As of 2016, 62 molecules with the lichexanthone scaffold had been described, and another eight additional lichexanthone derivatives were considered "putative"–thought to exist in nature, but not yet discovered in lichens.[20]
The effects of chlorine substituents on some structural and electronic properties of lichexanthones have been studied with quantum mechanical theory, to better understand things such as intramolecular interactions, aromaticity of the three rings, interactions between ionic and halogen bonds, and binding energies of complexes formed between lichexanthone, magnesium ion (Mg+2) and NH3.[52] A series of lichexanthone derivatives were synthesized and assessed for antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These derivatives consisted of ω-bromo and ω-aminoalkoxylxanthones; lichexanthone and several derivatives were found to have weak antimycobacterial activity. According to the authors, this chemometrics approach was useful to correlate structural and chemical features with in vitro antimycobacterial activity among the group of ω-aminoalkoxylxanthones.[19]
Eponyms
Some authors have explicitly named lichexanthone in the specific epithets of their published lichen species, thereby acknowledging the presence of this compound as an important taxonomic characteristic. These eponyms are listed here, followed by their author citation and year of publication. All of these species occur in Brazil:
^Aghoramurthy, K.; Seshadri, T.R. (1953). "An improved synthesis of lichexanthone". Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research (India). 12B: 350–352.
^ abcdeMasters, Kye-Simeon; Bräse, Stefan (2012). "Xanthones from fungi, lichens, and bacteria: the natural products and their synthesis". Chemical Reviews. 112 (7): 3717–3776. doi:10.1021/cr100446h. PMID22617028.
^ abcRoberts, John C. (1961). "Naturally occurring xanthones". Chemical Reviews. 61 (6): 591–605. doi:10.1021/cr60214a003.
^Grover, P.K.; Shah, G.D.; Shah, R.C. (1956). "Xanthones: part V. A new synthesis of lichexanthone". Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research (India). 15B: 629–630.
^Harris, Thomas M.; Hay, James V. (1977). "Biogenetically modeled syntheses of heptaacetate metabolites. Alternariol and lichexanthone". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 99 (5): 1631–1637. doi:10.1021/ja00447a058.
^ abcHuneck, Siegfried (1996). Identification of Lichen Substances. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 209–212. ISBN978-3-642-85245-9. OCLC851387266.
^ abHale, Mason E. (1975). "A Revision of the Lichen Genus Hypotrachyna (Parmeliaceae) in Tropical America". Smithsonian Contributions to Botany (25). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press: 10. doi:10.5479/si.0081024X.25.
^Letcher, R.M. (1968). "Chemistry of lichen constituents—VI: Mass spectra of usnic acid, lichexanthone and their derivatives". Organic Mass Spectrometry. 1 (4): 551–561. doi:10.1002/oms.1210010409.
^Carvalho, Adriana E.; Alcantara, Glaucia B.; Oliveira, Sebastião M.; Micheletti, Ana C.; Honda, Neli K.; Maia, Gilberto (2009). "Electroreduction of lichexanthone". Electrochimica Acta. 54 (8): 2290–2297. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2008.10.035.
^Feige, G.B.; Lumbsch, H.T.; Huneck, S.; Elix, J.A. (1993). "Identification of lichen substances by a standardized high-performance liquid chromatographic method". Journal of Chromatography A. 646 (2): 417–427. doi:10.1016/0021-9673(93)83356-w.
^Aptroot, André; Jungbluth, Patrícia; Cáceres, Marcela E.S. (2014). "A world key to the species of Pyxine with lichexanthone, with a new species from Brazil". The Lichenologist. 46 (5): 669–672. doi:10.1017/s0024282914000231.
^Archer, Alan (1997). The Lichen Genus Pertusaria in Australia. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. Vol. 69. Berlin/Stuttgart: J. Cramer. ISBN978-3-443-58048-3.
^Suárez, Alírica I.; Blanco, Zuleyma; Compagnone, Reinaldo S.; Salazar-Bookaman, María M.; Zapata, Varlin; Alvarado, Claudia (2006). "Anti-inflammatory activity of Croton cuneatus aqueous extract". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 105 (1–2): 99–101. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.10.006. PMID16314057.
^Okorie, Dominic A. (1976). "A new phthalide and xanthones from Anthocleista djalonensis and Anthocleista vogelli". Phytochemistry. 15 (11): 1799–1800. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)97499-5.
^Anyanwu, Gabriel O.; Onyeneke, Chukwu E.; Rauf, Khalid (2015). "Medicinal plants of the genus Anthocleista—A review of their ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 175: 648–667. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2015.09.032. PMID26432351.
^Tsamo, Armelle Tontsa; Melong, Raduis; Mkounga, Pierre; Nkengfack, Augustin Ephrem (2018). "Rubescins I and J, further limonoid derivatives from the stem bark of Trichilia rubescens (Meliaceae)". Natural Product Research. 33 (2): 196–203. doi:10.1080/14786419.2018.1443087. PMID29502449.
^Calderón, Angela I.; Terreaux, Christian; Schenk, Kurt; Pattison, Phil; Burdette, Joanna E.; Pezzuto, John M.; Gupta, Mahabir P.; Hostettmann, K. (2002). "Isolation and structure elucidation of an isoflavone and a sesterterpenoic acid from Henriettella fascicularis". Journal of Natural Products. 65 (12): 1749–1753. doi:10.1021/np0201164. PMID12502307.
^El-Seedi, Hesham R.; Hazell, Alan C.; Torssell, Kurt B.G. (1994). "Triterpenes, lichexanthone and an acetylenic acid from Minquartia guianensis". Phytochemistry. 35 (5): 1297–1299. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)94841-6.
^Pettit, George R.; Meng, Yanhui; Herald, Delbert L.; Graham, Keith A.N.; Pettit, Robin K.; Doubek, Dennis L. (2003). "Isolation and structure of ruprechstyril from Ruprechtia tangarana". Journal of Natural Products. 66 (8): 1065–1069. doi:10.1021/np0300986. PMID12932125.
^Lim, Pei Cee; Ramli, Hanizah; Kassim, Nur Kartinee; Ali, Zulfiqar; Khan, Ikhlas A.; Shaari, Khozirah; Ismail, Amin (2019). "Chemical constituents from the stem bark of Clausena excavata Burm. f". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 82: 52–55. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2018.12.010.
^Sriyatep, Teerayut; Chakthong, Suda; Leejae, Sukanlaya; Voravuthikunchai, Supayang P. (2014). "Two lignans, one alkaloid, and flavanone from the twigs of Feroniella lucida". Tetrahedron. 70 (9): 1773–1779. doi:10.1016/j.tet.2014.01.023.
^Jiménez, Carlos; Marcos, Manuel; Villaverde, Mary Carmen; Riguera, Ricardo; Castedo, Luis; Stermitz, Frank (1989). "A chromone from Zanthoxylum species". Phytochemistry. 28 (7): 1992–1993. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)97907-x.
^Ferrari, F.; Monache, G.Delle; de Lima, R.Alves (1985). "Two naphthopyran derivatives from Faramea cyanea". Phytochemistry. 24 (11): 2753–2755. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)80719-0.
^Wang, Long; Zhou, Han-Bai; C. Frisvad, Jens; A. Samson, Robert (2004). "Penicillium persicinum, a new griseofulvin, chrysogine and roquefortine C producing species from Qinghai province, China". Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. 86 (2): 173–179. doi:10.1023/b:anto.0000036140.86059.51. PMID15280651.
^Galloway, D.J. (1993). "Global environmental change: lichens and chemistry". In Feige, G.B.; Lumbsch, H.T. (eds.). Phytochemistry and Chemotaxonomy of Lichenized Ascomycetes: A Festschrift in Honour of Siegfried Huneck. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. Vol. 53. Berlin: J. Cramer. pp. 87–95. ISBN978-3-443-58032-2.
^Mostafavi, Najmeh; Ebrahimi, Ali (2018). "The role of chlorine substituents in lichexanthones properties: the ionic and halogen bond interactions". Theoretical Chemistry Accounts. 137 (8). doi:10.1007/s00214-018-2294-0.
^Guderley, Roland; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Elix, John A. (2000). "Four new species of Lecanora sensu stricto (Lecanorales, Ascomycotina) from tropical South America". The Bryologist. 103 (1): 139–144. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2000)103[0139:FNSOLS]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR3244290.
^ abMenezes, Aline Anjos; Xavier-Leite, Amanda Barreto; de Jesus, Katia Almeida; Aptroot, André; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2013). "Two new Crypthonia species and a new Syncesia from Chapada do Araripe, Ceará, NE Brazil (Ascomycota: Arthoniales), with a key to Crypthonia". The Lichenologist. 45 (5): 657–664. doi:10.1017/s0024282913000406.
^Lima, Edvaneide Leandro de; Mendonça, Cléverton de Oliveira; Aptroot, André; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2013). "Two new species of Cryptothecia from NE Brazil". The Lichenologist. 45 (3): 361–365. doi:10.1017/s0024282912000862.
^Aptroot, André; Feuerstein, Shirley Cunha; Cunha-Dias, Iane Paula Rego; de Lucena Nunes, Álvaro Rogerio; Honorato, Maykon Evangelista; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia (2017). "New lichen species and lichen reports from Amazon forest remnants and Cerrado vegetation in the Tocantina Region, northern Brazil". The Bryologist. 120 (3): 320–328. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-120.3.320.
^ abcda Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia; Aptroot, André (2017). "Lichens from the Brazilian Amazon, with special reference to the genus Astrothelium". The Bryologist. 120 (2): 166–182. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-120.2.166.
^ abcdeAptroot, André; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia (2018). "New lichen species from Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil". The Bryologist. 121 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-121.1.067.
^Aptroot, André; Souza, Maria Fernanda; Spielmann, Adriano Afonso (2021). "Two new crustose Cladonia species with strepsilin and other new lichens from the Serra de Maracaju, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil". Cryptogamie, Mycologie. 42 (8): 137–148. doi:10.5252/cryptogamie-mycologie2021v42a8.
^Aptroot, André; Fernanda de Souza, Maria; Alves dos Santos, Lidiane; Oliveira Junior, Isaias; Cardoso Barbosa, Bruno Micael; Cáceres da Silva, Marcela Eugenia (2022). "New species of lichenized fungi from Brazil, with a record report of 492 species in a small area of the Amazon Forest". The Bryologist. 125 (3): 435–467. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-125.3.433.