Antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis

Branislav R Ranković,Marijana M Kosanić,Tatjana P Stanojković

doi:10.1186/1472-6882-11-97

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to investigate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the acetone extracts of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis.MethodsAntioxidant activity was evaluated by five separate methods: free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, reducing power, determination of total phenolic compounds and determination of total flavonoid content. The antimicrobial activity was estimated by determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration by the broth microdilution method against six species of bacteria and ten species of fungi. Anticancer activity was tested against FemX (human melanoma) and LS174 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines using MTT method.ResultsOf the lichens tested, Lecanora atra had largest free radical scavenging activity (94.7% inhibition), which was greater than the standard antioxidants. Moreover, the tested extracts had effective reducing power and superoxide anion radical scavenging. The strong relationships between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the antioxidant effect of tested extracts were observed. Extract of Cladonia furcata was the most active antimicrobial agent with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 0.78 to 25 mg/mL. All extracts were found to be strong anticancer activity toward both cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 8.51 to 40.22 μg/mL.ConclusionsThe present study shows that tested lichen extracts demonstrated a strong antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer effects. That suggest that lichens may be used as as possible natural antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer agents to control various human, animal and plant diseases.

Highlights

The aim of this study is to investigate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the acetone extracts of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis
Lobaria pulmonaria and Parmelia sulcata have been used in the treatment of pulmonary and cranial diseases, respectively
The present study describes the evaluation of the antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of the acetone extracts of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis

Summary

Introduction

The aim of this study is to investigate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the acetone extracts of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis. Continuous and uncontrolled use of synthetic drugs has led to the need to find new preparations of natural origin in the control and prevention of various human, animal and plant diseases. Bioactive natural products have beneficial effect on the whole organism and without causing unwanted effects. Lichens are symbiotic organisms consisting of algae and fungi, and are important constituents of many ecosystems They usually grow on rocks, non-fertile ground, as well as epiphytes on the trees and leaves [2]. These organisms are used for human nutrition, animal nutrition, for getting colours, perfumes and alcohol. For hundreds of years, been used in many contry as a cure for diseases of humans. The usage of some lichens for many years in the traditional medicine was later justified by numerous researches that confirmed their various biological activity

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