a. Historical. The most distinctive and most universal of lichen products are the so-called lichen-acids, peculiar substances found so far only in lichens. They occur in the form of crystals or minute granules deposited in greater or less abundance as excretory bodies on the outer surface of the hyphal cells. Though usually so minute as scarcely to be recognized as crystals, yet in a fairly large series their form can be clearly seen with a high magnification. Many of them are colourless; others are a bright yellow, orange or red, and give the clear pure tone of colour characteristic of some of our most familiar lichens.
The first definite discovery of a lichen-acid was made towards the beginning of the nineteenth century and is due to the researches of C. H. Pfaff[813]. He was engaged in an examination of Cetraria islandica, the Iceland Moss, which in his time was held in high repute, not only as a food but as a tonic. He wished to determine the chemical properties of the bitter principle contained in it, which was so much prized by the Medical Faculty of the period, though the bitterness had to be removed to render palatable the nutritious substance of the thallus. He succeeded in isolating an acid which he tested and compared with other organic acids and found that it was a new substance, nearest in chemical properties to succinic acid. In a final note, he states that the new “lichen-acid,” as he named it, approached still nearer to boletic acid, a constituent of a fungus, though it was distinct from that substance also in several particulars. The name “cetrarin” was proposed, at a later date, by Herberger[814] who described it as a “subalkaloidal substance, slightly soluble in cold water to which it gives a bitter taste; soluble in hot water, but, on continued boiling, throwing down a brown powder which is slightly soluble in alcohol and readily soluble in ether.” Knop and Schnederman[815] found that Herberger’s “cetrarin” was a compound substance and contained besides other substances “cetraric acid” and lichesterinic acid. It has now been determined by Hesse[816] as fumarprotocetraric acid (C₆₂H₅₀O₃₅), a derivative of which is cetraric acid or triaethylprotocetraric acid with the formula C₅₄H₃₉O₂₄(OC₂H₅)₃ and not C₂₀H₁₈O₉ as had been supposed. Cetraric acid has not yet been isolated with certainty from any lichen[817].
After this first isolation of a definite chemical substance, further research was undertaken, and gradually a number of these peculiar acids were recognized, the lichens examined being chiefly those that were of real or supposed economic value either in medicine or in the arts. In late years a wider chemical study of lichen products has been vigorously carried on, and the results gained have been recently arranged and published in book form by Zopf[818]. Many of the statements on the subject included here are taken from that work. Zopf gives a description of all the acids that had been discovered up to the date of publication, and the methods employed for extracting each substance. The structural formulae, the various affinities, derivatives and properties of the acids, with their crystalline form, are set forth along with a list of the lichens examined and the acids peculiar to each species. In many instances outline figures of the crystals obtained by extraction are given. For a fuller treatment of the subject, the student is referred to the book itself, as only a general account can be attempted here.
b. Occurrence and Examination of Lichen-Acids. Acids have been found, with few exceptions, in all the lichens examined. They are sometimes brightly coloured and are then easily visible under the microscope. Generally their presence can only be determined by reagents. Over 140 different kinds have been recognized and their formulae determined, though many are still imperfectly known. As a rule related lichen species contain the same acids, though in not a few cases one species may contain several different kinds. In growing lichens, they form 1 to 8 per cent. of the dry weight, and as they are practically, while unchanged, insoluble in water, they are not liable to be washed out by rain, snow or floods. Their production seems to depend largely on the presence of oxygen, as they are always found in greatest abundance on the more freely aerated parts of the thallus, such as the soredial hyphae, the outer rind or the loose medullary filaments. They are also often deposited on the exposed disc of the apothecium, on the tips of the paraphyses, and on the wall lining the pycnidia. They are absent from the thallus of the Collemaceae, these being extremely gelatinous lichens in which there can be little contact of the hyphae with the atmosphere. No free acids, so far as is known, are contained in Sticta fuliginosa, but a compound substance, trimethylamin, is present in the thallus of that lichen. It has also been affirmed that acids do not occur in any Peltigera nor in two species of Nephromium, but Zopf[818] has extracted a substance peltigerin both from species of Peltigera and from the section Peltidea.
For purposes of careful examination freshly gathered lichens are most serviceable, as the acids alter in herbarium or stored specimens. It is well, when possible, to use a fairly large bulk of material, as the acids are often present in small quantities. The lichens should be dried at a temperature not above 40°C. for fear of changing the character of the contained substances, and they should then be finely powdered. When only a small quantity of material is available, it has been recommended that reagents should be applied and the effect watched under the microscope with a low power magnification. This method is also of great service in determining the exact position of the acids in the thallus.
In micro-chemical examination, Senft[819] deprecates the use of chloroform, ether, etc., seeing that their too rapid evaporation leaves either an amorphous or crystalline mass of material which does not lend itself to further examination. He recommends as more serviceable some oil solution, preferably “bone oil” (neat’s-foot oil), in which a section of the thallus should be broken up under a cover-glass and subjected to a process of slow heating; some days must elapse before the extraction is complete. The surplus oil is then to be drained off, the section further bruised and the substance examined.
Acids in bulk should be extracted by ether, acetone, chloroform, benzole, petrol-ether and lignoin or by carbon bisulphide. Such solvents as alcohols, acetates and alkali solutions should not be used as they tend to split up or to alter the constitution of the acids. For the same reason, the use of chloroform is to a certain extent undesirable as it contains a percentage of alcohol. Ether and acetone, or a mixture of both, are the most efficient solvents, and all acids can be extracted by their use, if the material is left to soak a sufficient length of time, either in the cold or warmed. It is however advisable to follow with a second solvent in case any other acid should be present in the tissues. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves out all acids but often induces colour changes in the process.
All known lichen-acids form crystals, though the crystalline form may alter with the solution used. After filtering and distilling, the residue will be found to contain a mixture of these crystals along with other substances, which may be removed by washing, etc.
c. Character of Acids. Many lichen-acids are more or less bitter to the taste; they are usually of an acid nature though certain of the substances are neutral, such as zeorin, a constituent of various Lecanoraceae, Physciaceae and Cladoniaceae, stictaurin, originally obtained from Sticta aurata, leiphemin, from Haematomma coccineum, and others.