{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T23:07:03Z","timestamp":1791414423934,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,17]],"date-time":"2023-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1686960000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005230","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["cstc2021jcyj-cxtt0005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["cstc2021jcyj-cxtt0005"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005230","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005230","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["XDJK2018AA001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XDJK2018AA001"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005230","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities to Southwest University","award":["cstc2021jcyj-cxtt0005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["cstc2021jcyj-cxtt0005"]}]},{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities to Southwest University","award":["XDJK2018AA001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XDJK2018AA001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Melanin is a complex natural pigment that is widely present in fungi. The mushroom Ophiocordyceps sinensis has a variety of pharmacological effects. The active substances of O. sinensis have been extensively studied, but few studies have focused on the O. sinensis melanin. In this study, the production of melanin was increased by adding light or oxidative stress, namely, reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS), during liquid fermentation. Subsequently, the structure of the purified melanin was characterized using elemental analysis, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and pyrolysis gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS). Studies have shown that O. sinensis melanin is composed of C (50.59), H (6.18), O (33.90), N (8.19), and S (1.20), with maximum absorbance at 237 nm and typical melanin structures such as benzene, indole, and pyrrole. Additionally, the various biological activities of O. sinensis melanin have been discovered; it can chelate heavy metals and shows a strong ultraviolet-blocking ability. Moreover, O. sinensis melanin can reduce the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species and counteract the oxidative damage of H2O2 to cells. These results can help us to develop applications of O. sinensis melanin in radiation resistance, heavy metal pollution remediation, and antioxidant use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms241210282","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,19]],"date-time":"2023-06-19T01:31:14Z","timestamp":1687138274000},"page":"10282","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["Characterization and Biological Activities of Melanin from the Medicinal Fungi Ophiocordyceps sinensis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Chaoqun","family":"Tong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, China"},{"name":"NHC Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chaolu","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5748-3977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Junhong","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guoqing","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2296-0742","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zeyang","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chunfeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"},{"name":"Chongqing Key Laboratory of Microsporidia Infection and Prevention, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"765110","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2021.765110","article-title":"Bioprocess of Microbial Melanin Production and Isolation","volume":"9","author":"Choi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. 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Anim."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Molecular Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1422-0067\/24\/12\/10282\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T19:55:39Z","timestamp":1760126139000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1422-0067\/24\/12\/10282"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,17]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6]]}},"alternative-id":["ijms241210282"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijms241210282","relation":{},"ISSN":["1422-0067"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1422-0067","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,17]]}}}