Antibacterial and Anticancer Activities of Nine Lichens of Indonesian Java Island

Abstract

Lichen is a unique composite organism that arises from algae and fungi symbiotic relationship. There are 18,500 recorded lichen species worldwide but only limited number of global species has been tested for their biological activities. In particular, Indonesian lichens are rarely investigated. In this study, we collected and identified nine lichen species from six different locations in East Java Indonesia and screened their crude methanol extracts against gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and cancer cells (MCF7, Widr and Hela). While only the methanol extract of Parmelia cetrata Ach and Parmelia dilatata Vain inhibited Pseudomonas aeruginosa, most lichen extracts possessed moderate cytotoxicity. Cladonia scabriuscula methanol extract was cytotoxic against MCF7, Widr and Hela cell lines with IC50 value of 324, 324, 476 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, methanol extract of Physcia cf. millegrana Degel indicated cytotoxicity against Hela cell line with IC50 value of 137 μg/mL. This study revealed anticancer potency of lichen of Java Island for the first time and further research is necessary for isolating the bioactive compounds.