Oxidative stress mediated by gyrophoric acid from the lichen Umbilicaria hirsuta affected apoptosis and stress/survival pathways in HeLa cells

Background Lichens produce a huge diversity of bioactive compounds with several biological effects. Gyrophoric acid (GA) is found in high concentrations in the common lichen Umbilicaria hirsuta, however evidence for biological activity was limited to anti-proliferative activity described on several cancer cell lines.