Journal
DIVERSITY-BASEL
Volume 13, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/d13080342
Keywords
antiprotozoal; bioactivity; insect bite; human illnesses; human infections; insecticidal; larvicidal; lichens; literature survey; secondary substances
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Funding
- National Research Development and Innovation Fund [NKFI K 124341]
- Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship (2020-2024)
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This review focuses on lichens with potential insecticidal and antiprotozoal activity, testing the effects on various insect and protozoa species. Results suggest that lichen secondary metabolites, especially usnic acid, may serve as effective insecticides. Further validation in the field and on non-human primates is needed.
Since the long-term application of synthetic chemicals as insecticides and the chemotherapy of protozoal diseases have had various negative effects (non-target effects, resistance), research on less harmful biological products is underway. This review is focused on lichens with potential insecticidal and antiprotozoal activity. Literature sources (27) were surveyed from five bibliographic databases and analyzed according to the taxonomic group of the insect, the protozoal disease and the lichen, the type of bioactive compounds (including method of application and mount applied), and the potential bioactivity based on mortalities caused after 24 h of exposure on insects and on parasitic protozoa. Six species of protozoa and five species of mosquitoes, three kinds of larval stages of insects and three protozoa stages were tested. Insecticidal and antiprotozoal effects of crude extracts and seven lichen secondary metabolites (mostly usnic acid) of 32 lichen species were determined. Physiological and morphological changes on parasitic protozoa were observed. Mortality rates caused by LSMs on insect vectors closer to (or somewhat above) the WHO threshold were considered to be insecticides. The results are based on laboratory experiments; however, the efficacy of metabolites should be confirmed in the field and on non-human primates to control the insect vectors and human protozoal diseases transmitted by insects.
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