Evaluation of Biological Properties and Isolation of Metabolites of Lichens of Parmeliaceae Family from Himalayan Region of Nepal

Rosa Ranjit¹*, Rhitu Shrestha^1,2, Sarima Paudel^1,2, Jyoti Maharjan¹, Bimala Devi Devkota¹, Shandesh Bhattarai¹, Bishnu Prasad Pandey²*

¹Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal.

²Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal.

Corresponding Author: [email protected]; [email protected]; Tel: +977-9849355555; +977:9847023919

Recieved Date: August 16, 2019; Accepted Date: September 21, 2019; Published Date: 29 September 2019

Citation: Ranjit R, Shrestha R, Paudel S, Maharjan J, Devkota BD, Bhattarai S, Pandey BP.*Evaluation of Biological Properties and Isolation of Metabolites of Lichens of Parmeliaceae Family from Himalayan Region of Nepal. Trop J Nat Prod Res. 2019; 3(8):265-271.  https://doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v3i8.3

Copyright: © 2019 Ranjit et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the bioactive properties and chemical constituents of two lichens Usnea longissima and Parmelia nepalensis. Both lichens were subjected to sequential extraction with four different organic solvents. Total phenolic content (TPC) was evaluated by Folin Ciocalteu method while total flavonoid content (TFC) was evaluated by aluminum chloride colorimetric method. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay and ?- amylase inhibition activities was evaluated by starch- iodine method. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by agar well diffusion method and cytotoxicity assay by Brine shrimp lethality assay. Results revealed that methanol and ethyl acetate extract of both lichen species have higher amounts of TPC and TFC. Both lichens showed potent antioxidant activities. The TPC and TFC content showed a positive correlation with the antioxidant activities. Furthermore, ethyl acetate extract of U. longissima and chloroform extract of P. nepalensis were found to be potent for the alpha amylase inhibition. All four fractions of U. longissima and P. nepalensis have inhibited Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, while Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found to be resistant to both lichens. Brine Shrimp lethality assays revealed that the hexane extract of U .longissima was found to be the most toxic among all tested extracts. Two known secondary metabolite usnic acid and evernic acid were isolated from both lichens. This study revealed that U. longissima and P. nepalensispossess potent bioactive properties and secondary metabolites as well.