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Usnea

Usnea

OTHER NAME(S): Acide Usnique, Barba de Capuchino, Barbe de Jupiter, Barbe de Saint Antoine, Beard Moss, Mousse d'Arbre, Musgo de los Arboles, Old Man's Beard, Sodium Usniate, Tree Moss, Tree's Dandruff, Usnea Lichen, Usnée Barbue, Usnée Fleurie, Usniate de Sodium, Usnic Acid, Woman's Long Hair, Usnea barbata, Usnea filipendula, Usnea florida, Usnea ghattensis, Usnea hirta, Usnea longissimi, Usnea plicata, Usnea scabrata, Usnée

Overview

Usnea (Usnea barbata) is a lichen that grows on trees. Lichens appear to be a single plant, but they are really fungus and algae that grow together.

Usnea contains chemicals that are thought to fight germs that might cause infections. These chemicals might also decrease swelling, pain, and fever.

People use usnea for cough, obesity, pain, wound healing, and many other purposes, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Don't confuse usnea with another lichen called oak moss. These are not the same.

References
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  3. Dobrescu D, Tanasescu M, Mezdrea A, et al. Contributions to the complex study of some lichens-Usnea genus. Pharmacological studies on Usnea barbata and Usnea hirta species. Rom J Physiol 1993;30:101-7.
  4. Lauterwein M, Oethinger M, Belsner K, et al. In vitro activities of the lichen secondary metabolites vulpinic acid, (+)-usnic acid, and (-)-usnic acid against aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1995;39:2541-3.
  5. Favreau JT, Ryu Ml, Braunstein G, et al. Severe hepatotoxicity associated with the dietary supplement LipoKinetix. Ann Intern Med 2002;136:590-5.
  6. Ingolfsdottir K. Usnic acid. Phytochemistry 2002;61:729-36.
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  8. Garcia, Rowe J., Garcia, Gimenez, and Saenz Rodriguez, M. T. Some lichen products have antimicrobial activity. Z Naturforsch.[C.] 1999;54(7-8):605-609.
  9. Mitchell, J. C. Allergy to lichens. Allergic contact dermatitis from usnic acid produced by lichenized fungi. Arch Dermatol 1965;92(2):142-146.
  10. Campanella, L., Delfini, M., Ercole, P., Iacoangeli, A., and Risuleo, G. Molecular characterization and action of usnic acid: a drug that inhibits proliferation of mouse polyomavirus in vitro and whose main target is RNA transcription. Biochimie 2002;84(4):329-334.
  11. Piorkowski, G. [Usnic acid as an oral antivirotic.]. Ther.Ggw. 1957;96(8):286-287.
  12. Johnson, R. B., Feldott, G., and Lardy, H. A. The mode of action of the antibiotic, usnic acid. Arch Biochem. 1950;28(3):317-323.
  13. Hassal, C. H. The antibacterial activity of usnic acid and related compounds. Experientia 12-15-1950;6(12):462-464.
  14. Pramyothin, P., Janthasoot, W., Pongnimitprasert, N., Phrukudom, S., and Ruangrungsi, N. Hepatotoxic effect of (+)usnic acid from Usnea siamensis Wainio in rats, isolated rat hepatocytes and isolated rat liver mitochondria. J Ethnopharmacol. 2004;90(2-3):381-387.
  15. Han, D., Matsumaru, K., Rettori, D., and Kaplowitz, N. Usnic acid-induced necrosis of cultured mouse hepatocytes: inhibition of mitochondrial function and oxidative stress. Biochem.Pharmacol. 2-1-2004;67(3):439-451.
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  17. Yilmaz, M., Turk, A. O., Tay, T., and Kivanc, M. The antimicrobial activity of extracts of the lichen Cladonia foliacea and its (-)-usnic acid, atranorin, and fumarprotocetraric acid constituents. Z.Naturforsch.[C.] 2004;59(3-4):249-254.
  18. Bezivin, C., Tomasi, S., Rouaud, I., Delcros, J. G., and Boustie, J. Cytotoxic activity of compounds from the lichen: Cladonia convoluta. Planta Med 2004;70(9):874-877.
  19. Ribeiro-Costa, R. M., Alves, A. J., Santos, N. P., Nascimento, S. C., Goncalves, E. C., Silva, N. H., Honda, N. K., and Santos-Magalhaes, N. S. In vitro and in vivo properties of usnic acid encapsulated into PLGA-microspheres. J Microencapsul. 2004;21(4):371-384.
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  22. De Carvalho, E. A., Andrade, P. P., Silva, N. H., Pereira, E. C., and Figueiredo, R. C. Effect of usnic acid from the lichen Cladonia substellata on Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro: an ultrastructural study. Micron. 2005;36(2):155-161.
  23. Kristmundsdottir, T., Jonsdottir, E., Ogmundsdottir, H. M., and Ingolfsdottir, K. Solubilization of poorly soluble lichen metabolites for biological testing on cell lines. Eur J Pharm Sci 2005;24(5):539-543.
  24. Hsu, L. M., Huang, Y. S., Chang, F. Y., and Lee, S. D. 'Fat burner' herb, usnic Acid, induced acute hepatitis in a family. J Gastroenterol.Hepatol. 2005;20(7):1138-1139.
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  27. Choudhary, M. I., Azizuddin, Jalil, S., and Atta, ur Rahman. Bioactive phenolic compounds from a medicinal lichen, Usnea longissima. Phytochemistry 2005;66(19):2346-2350.
  28. Behera, B. C., Verma, N., Sonone, A., and Makhija, U. Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of lichen Usnea ghattensis in vitro. Biotechnol Lett 2005;27(14):991-995.
  29. Odabasoglu, F., Cakir, A., Suleyman, H., Aslan, A., Bayir, Y., Halici, M., and Kazaz, C. Gastroprotective and antioxidant effects of usnic acid on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 1-3-2006;103(1):59-65.
  30. Halici, M., Odabasoglu, F., Suleyman, H., Cakir, A., Aslan, A., and Bayir, Y. Effects of water extract of Usnea longissima on antioxidant enzyme activity and mucosal damage caused by indomethacin in rats. Phytomedicine 2005;12(9):656-662.
  31. Saenz, M. T., Garcia, M. D., and Rowe, J. G. Antimicrobial activity and phytochemical studies of some lichens from south of Spain. Fitoterapia 2006;77(3):156-159.
  32. Sanchez, W., Maple, J. T., Burgart, L. J., and Kamath, P. S. Severe hepatotoxicity associated with use of a dietary supplement containing usnic acid. Mayo Clin Proc 2006;81(4):541-544.
  33. Wang, X. P., Liu, H. J., Zhen, L., Zhou, Z. T., Li, M. Y., and Zhang, W. D. [Plasmid elimination effect of usnic acid on antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. Zhong.Yao Cai. 2006;29(1):36-39.
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  35. Shibamoto, T. and Wei, C. I. Mutagenicity of lichen constituents. Environ Mutagen. 1984;6(5):757-762.
  36. Yamamoto, Y., MIURA, Y., Kinoshita, Y., Higuchi, M., Yamada, Y., Murakami, A., Ohigashi, H., and Koshimizu, K. Screening of tissue cultures and thalli of lichens and some of their active constituents for inhibition of tumor promoter-induced Epstein-Barr virus activation. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1995;43(8):1388-1390.
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  38. Periera, E. C., Nascimento, S. C., Lima, R. C., Silva, N. H., Oliveira, A. F., Bandeira, E., Boitard, M., Beriel, H., Vicente, C., and Legaz, M. E. Analysis of Usnea fasciata crude extracts with antineoplastic activity. Tokai J Exp.Clin.Med 1994;19(1-2):47-52.
  39. Okuyama, E., Umeyama, K., Yamazaki, M., Kinoshita, Y., and Yamamoto, Y. Usnic acid and diffractaic acid as analgesic and antipyretic components of Usnea diffracta. Planta Med 1995;61(2):113-115.
  40. Rafanelli, S., Bacchilega, R., Stanganelli, I., and Rafanelli, A. Contact dermatitis from usnic acid in vaginal ovules. Contact Dermatitis 1995;33(4):271-272.
  41. Fournet, A., Ferreira, M. E., Rojas, de Arias, Torres, de Ortiz, Inchausti, A., Yaluff, G., Quilhot, W., Fernandez, E., and Hidalgo, M. E. Activity of compounds isolated from Chilean lichens against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis. Comp Biochem Physiol C.Pharmacol Toxicol Endocrinol. 1997;116(1):51-54.
  42. Guo L, Shi Q, Fang JL, et al. Review of usnic acid and Usnea barbata toxicity. J Environ Sci Health C Environ Carcinog Ecotoxicol Rev. 2008;26(4):317-38.
  43. Kwong SP, Huang Z, Ji L, Wang C. PORIMIN: The key to (+)-Usnic acid-induced liver toxicity and oncotic cell death in normal human L02 liver cells. J Ethnopharmacol 2021;270:113873.
  44. Lee S, Lee Y, Ha S, et al. Anti-inflammatory effects of usnic acid in an MPTP-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Brain Res 2020;1730:146642.