Carnosic acid [CA, (4aR,10aS)-5,6-dihydroxy-1,1-dimethyl-7- propan-2-yl-2,3,4,9,10,10a-hexahydrophenanthrene-4a-carboxylic acid] is a phenolic diterpene found in the leaves of the rosemary plant (Rosmarinus officinalis) and is used routinely as a food and cosmetic additive due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Carnosic acid as a food additive has a good safety profile and does not pose a health concern. Carnosic acid has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, anticancer, photoprotective, and antiadipogenic activities in vitro. Carnosic acid was shown to induce significant weight loss and reduced visceral adiposity in ob/ob mice fed a diet supplemented with carnosic acid. Carnosic acid is used as a preservative or antioxidant in food and nonfood products (e.g. toothpaste, mouthwash and chewing gum) -in which it has an antimicrobial effect on the microbes responsible for bad breath- or in skin care products.

Syringic acid (SYRA) is a potential antioxidant used in traditional Chinese medicine and is an emerging nutraceutical. Current reports claim its potential anti-angiogenic, anti-glycating, anti-hyperglycaemic, neuroprotective, and memory-enhancing properties in various animal models. Syringic acid (SA) possesses anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-steatotic effects via the regulation of lipid metabolic and inflammatory genes. SA is likely to be a new natural therapeutic agent for obesity or non-alcoholic liver disease. Syringic acid reduces oxidative stress and axonal degeneration in rat sciatic nerve after ischemia/reperfusion injury. Syringic acid may play a role in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries due to ischemia/reperfusion.

Vulpinic Acid is a lichen metabolite with anti-inflammatory properties. Vulpinic Acid acts as photoprotective agent and antifungal agent. Vulpinic acid mainly affects cell cycle, glycogen metabolism, transcription and translation to fungi. Vulpinic acid showed very strong inhibition effect on TrxR (mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase), so it may be used as a potential drug for cancer therapy. Vulpinic acid possesses diverse biological activities, and lichens containing Vulpinic acid have a strong history of medicinal use. For example, Eskimos and people of Northern Europe have used lichens containing Vulpinic acid to poison the wolf and fox.Lichens containing Vulpinic acid are used as fodder for reindeer and emergency food by Arctic and Subarctic peoples. In central Europe, members of the genus Cetraria, which is known to produce Vulpinic acid, have been used as laxatives and have been taken for coughing, including that associated with tuberculosis.