Identification and determination of usnic acid and fatty acid from various lichen species in Arequipa, Peru, as well as antibacterial and antioxidant capacity

Abstract

Seven species of lichens such us Umbilicaria aff. calvescens, Hypotrachyna enderythraea, Punctelia graminicola, Cladonia chlorophaea, Xanthoparmelia farinose, Psiloparmelia distincta (rock and tree substrates; rs and ts), and Usnea durietzii were collected from the province of Arequipa - Peru. Their usnic acid (UA) and fatty acid (FA) amounts in methanol-acetone were determined by High-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) and Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The antimicrobial activities of these extracts were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC strains (43300, 29213, 25923 and 700699), Escherichia coli strains (O157:H7 and ATCC 10536), Salmonella enterica sv typhimurium ATCC 14028, Candida albicans ATCC 90028 and Candida. tropicalis ATCC 750T. In addition, antioxidant capacity was also studied by Total phenolic content (TPC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical, 2,2-Azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic Acid (ABTS) radical cation and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assays. The UA contents in all the studied lichen species varied between 0.017 and 0.304 %. Among all the tested extracts, Usnea durietzii had the highest total FA concentration (5.81 mg/g). P. distincta (rs) was active against S. aureus strains (MIC = 0.02–0.2 mg/mL) as well as C. albicans (MIC = 4 mg/mL) and C. tropicalis (MIC = 3 mg/mL). P. distincta (ts) displayed moderate total phenol content (TPC = 29.1 ± 1.6 mg GAE/g) and antioxidant capacity evidenced by scavenging DPPH (IC50 = 1.45 ± 0.03 mg/mL) and ABTS (18.2 ± 0.2 mg TE/g) radicals, but it showed high values of FRAP (1953 ± 87 µM Fe2+/g). Our findings indicate that P. distincta (rs) could be considered as a potential antimicrobial metabolites source whereas P. distincta (ts) and Puntelia graminicole for polyphenols with antioxidant compound. © 2024 The Authors