Lichen Depsidones as Potential Novel Pharmacologically Active Compounds

For centuries, lichens have been used in traditional medicine and their use persists to the present day in some parts of the world. Depsidones are one of the classes of secondary metabolites which are mostly produced in lichens. Lichen depsidones have been reported to possess many biological activities, such as antitumor and antimicrobial activities. In order to point out the pharmacological potential of this class of compounds, the present article reviews the structure and biological properties of the known lichen depsidones. The biosynthesis of depsidones and the relationship between their chemical structure and biological activity is also discussed.