Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 14, 2026

Diffractaic acid

Diffractaic acid is a β-orcinol depside with the molecular formula C20H22O7, which is produced by lichens. Diffractaic acid has cytotoxic, cytogenetic, oxidative, analgesic and antiviral effects.

Last revised
Jun 14, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
235 w
Citations
12
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Diffractaic acid
source ↗
Names
IUPAC name
4-(2,4-dimethoxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoyl)oxy-2-hydroxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoic acid1
Other names
Diffractic acid,1 Dirbizomic acid,1 Dirhizomic acid,1 NSC 5901,2 NSC 6855952
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
  • InChI=1S/C20H22O7/c1-9-8-14(11(3)17(21)15(9)19(22)23)27-20(24)16-10(2)7-13(25-5)12(4)18(16)26-6/h7-8,21H,1-6H3,(H,22,23)
    Key: MIJKZXWOOXIEEU-UHFFFAOYSA-N2
  • O=C(O)C1=C(O)C(C)=C(OC(C2=C(OC)C(C)=C(OC)C=C2C)=O)C=C1C
Properties
C20H22O7
Molar mass 374.389 g·mol−1
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Diffractaic acid is a β-orcinol depside with the molecular formula C20H22O7, which is produced by lichens.314 Diffractaic acid has cytotoxic, cytogenetic, oxidative, analgesic and antiviral effects.4

The foliose lichen species Punctelia diffractaica is named for the presence of this compound.5

References

References

  1. "Diffractaic acid". Pubchem.ncbi.NLM.nih.gov.
  2. "Diffractaic Acid (CAS 436-32-8)". www.caymanchem.com.
  3. Sukumaran, Swapna Thacheril; Sugathan, Shiburaj; Abdulhameed, Sabu (28 November 2020). Plant Metabolites: Methods, Applications and Prospects. Springer Nature. p. 265. ISBN 978-981-15-5136-9.
  4. Demir, Leyla; Toğar, Başak; Türkez, Hasan; Sozio, Piera; Aslan, Ali; Stefano, Antonio Di (2015). "The investigation of cytogenetic and oxidative effects of diffractaic acid on human lymphocyte cultures". Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology. 58: 75–81. doi:10.1590/S1516-8913201502752. ISSN 1516-8913.
  5. Kurokawa, S. (1999). "Notes on Flavopunctelia and Punctelia (Parmeliaceae), with descriptions of four new species". Bulletin of the Botanical Garden of Toyama. 4: 25–32.
Further reading

Further reading

  • Sinha, Rajeshwar P.; Häder, h c Donat-P. (6 October 2020). Natural Bioactive Compounds: Technological Advancements. Academic Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-12-820659-1.