ABSTRACT
A total of twenty four lichen species belonging to six families were collected from mountainous region of Nepal. The methanol extracts of each species were tested for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities in vitro. It was found that extracts of twenty one lichen species were active against B. subtilis and seven species were active against S. aureus. Similarly, in DPPH assay, three species Peltigera sp.,Cladonia sp., and Canoparmelia sp. showed comparable activity with commercial standard, BHA. In ABTS+ assay, extracts of Parmoterma sp., Ramalina sp., Peltigera sp. and Cladonia sp. showed stronger activity than ascorbic acid. The observed data after comparison with previously published reports indicated that the high altitude lichens contain stronger antioxidant and antibacterial constituents. Similarly, the methanol extracts of Heterodermia sp. and Ramalina sp. showed comparable toxicity effect with commercial standard berberine chloride indicating a potent source of anticancer drugs.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Candida albicans/drug effects , Gram-Negative Bacteria/drug effects , Gram-Positive Bacteria/drug effects , Lichens/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/isolation & purification , Antioxidants/isolation & purification , Artemia/drug effects , Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests , Lichens/classification , Nepal , Toxicity Tests/methodsABSTRACT
A total of twenty four lichen species belonging to six families were collected from mountainous region of Nepal. The methanol extracts of each species were tested for antimicrobial and antioxidant activitiesin vitro. It was found that extracts of twenty one lichen species were active againstB. subtilis and seven species were active againstS. aureus. Similarly, in DPPH assay, three speciesPeltigera sp.,Cladonia sp., andCanoparmelia sp. showed comparable activity with commercial standard, BHA. In ABTS+ assay, extracts ofParmoterma sp.,Ramalina sp.,Peltigera sp. andCladonia sp. showed stronger activity than ascorbic acid. The observed data after comparison with previously published reports indicated that the high altitude lichens contain stronger antioxidant and antibacterial constituents. Similarly, the methanol extracts ofHeterodermia sp. andRamalina sp. showed comparable toxicity effect with commercial standard berberine chloride indicating a potent source of anticancer drugs.
