Phytochemical composition, antimicrobial activities, and cholinesterase inhibitory properties of the lichen Vain.

Lichens are important sources of versatile bioactive compounds. Two new dibenzofurans , a multi-substituted single benzene ring , and two organic acid compounds along with 25 known compounds were isolated from the lichen Vain. Their structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral analyses. Compounds were tested for inhibitory activities against , and by the disk diffusion method and microdilution assay respectively. Compound showed moderate inhibitory activities against and with the inhibition zone (IZ) of 6.2 mm and 6.3 mm, respectively. Depside exhibited good activity against and with 6.6 mm and 32 μg/ml, respectively. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of compounds and with the characteristic dibenzofuran scaffold were evaluated var anti-AChE assay and a molecular docking study. Compound could better inhibit AChE at the concentration of 0.3 μmol/ml with a value of 61.07 ± 0.85%. The molecular docking study also demonstrated that compound had the strongest binding affinity among the five dibenzofurans, and the "-CDOCKER Energy" value was 14.4513 kcal/mol.