Atranorin (ATR) is a secondary metabolite of lichens. While previous studies investigated the effects of this substance predominantly in an in vitro environment, in our study we investigated the basic physicochemical properties, the binding affinity to human serum albumin (HSA), basic pharmacokinetics, and, mainly, on the systematic effects of ATR in vivo. Sporadic studies describe its effects during, predominantly, cancer. This project is original in terms of testing the efficacy of ATR on a healthy organism, where we can possibly attribute negative effects directly to ATR and not to the disease. For the experiment, 24 Sprague Dawley rats (Velaz, Únetice, Czech Republic) were used. The animals were divided into four groups. The first group (n = 6) included healthy males as control intact rats (♂INT) and the second group (n = 6) included healthy females as control intact rats (♀INT). Groups three and four (♂ATR/n = 6 and ♀ATR/n = 6) consisted of animals with daily administered ATR (10mg/kg body weight) in an ethanol-water solution per os for a one-month period. Our results demonstrate that ATR binds to HSA near the binding site TRP214 and acts on a systemic level. ATR caused mild anemia during the treatment. However, based on the levels of hepatic enzymes in the blood (ALT, ALP, or bilirubin levels), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), or liver histology, no impact on liver was recorded. Significantly increased creatinine and lactate dehydrogenase levels together with increased defecation activity during behavioral testing may indicate the anabolic effect of ATR in skeletal muscles. Interestingly, ATR changed some forms of behavior. ATR at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight is non-toxic and, therefore, could be used in further research.

Biomedical Center Martin Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin Comenius University 814 99 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Sciences Pavol Jozef Safarik University 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Chemistry Faculty of Sciences Pavol Jozef Safarik University 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Neuroimmunology Slovak Academy of Sciences 831 01 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Pathology Faculty of Medicine Pavol Jozef Safarik University 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Physics Faculty of Mathematics and Physics Charles University 110 00 Prague Czech Republic

Small Animal Clinic University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy 041 81 Kosice Slovakia

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The First In Vivo Study Shows That Gyrophoric Acid Changes Behavior of Healthy Laboratory Rats