Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf var. furfuracea and Evernia prunastri Lichens Collected from Black Sea Region

Abstract

The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the acetone extracts of lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea var. furfuracea (PF) and Evernia prunastri (EP) were investigated. Different antioxidant tests were applied such as ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity and reducing power. Antimicrobial activities of lichen extracts were determined by agar well diffusion method and micro-well dilution assay. All lichen extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against test bacteria. Antioxidant activity of PF extract is higher than EP extract. Acetone extracts of PF and EP could be considered as a source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent.