Umbilicaria esculenta

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Umbilicaria esculenta
Iwatake gathering at Kumano in Kishū, by Hiroshige II
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Umbilicariaceae
Genus: Umbilicaria
Species: U. esculenta
Binomial name
Umbilicaria esculenta
Korean pan fried Umbilicaria esculenta

Umbilicaria esculenta is a lichen of the genus Umbilicaria that grows on rocks. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea . It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a food source and medicine. It is called iwatake (kanji: 岩茸 or 石茸) in Japanese and seogi (hangul: 석이; hanja: 石耳; literally "stone ear" or "rock ear") in Korean. The species name is based on the earlier basionym Gyrophora esculenta.

Contents

[edit] In vitro antiviral activity

Polysaccharides from the lichen have been shown to inhibit replication of the HIV virus in laboratory tests.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hirabayashi K, Iwata S, Ito M, Shigeta S, Narui T, Mori T et al. (1989). "Inhibitory effect of a lichen polysaccharide sulfate, GE-3-S, on the replication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro.". Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 37 (9): 2410–2. PMID 2575016. 

[edit] External links

[edit] See also


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