Lichens are small environments containing two fungus and algae symbiosis. They are one of the richest sources of natural ingredients with anti-tumor, antibiotic, and antioxidant properties, some of which are used as drugs and for the treatment of certain diseases. This research was aimed to identify and determine the amount of betolin and betulinic acid as well as evaluation of the antioxidant activity of lichen Betula pendula Roth. Roth. and its symbiotic fungus. It was found that the lichen isolated from the bark of birch contained bioactive compounds entitled Raminalina sinensis. The symbiotic fungus (Arthrinium arundinis) was detected by the molecular method. This fungus belongs to the ascomycetes, registered for the first time in the NCBI website with MG198621 code. In the extract of lichen and its symbiotic fungus, the amount of betulinic acid and betulinic acid was determined using HPLC. Betulinic acid and betulin, belonging to the terpenes, are known as a strong anticancer agent. The mentioned ingredients were significantly found in the lichen tissue (2. 17 and 0. 075 percent, respectively) and in its symbiotic fungus A. arundinis (1. 6 and 0. 025 percent, respectively). In this way, the lichen and its symbiotic fungus are introduced for the first time as new sources containing these two active ingredients. Measurement of antioxidant properties of lichen extract and its symbiotic fungus was examined by methanol and ethanol solvents. It was found that the lichen extract and the symbiotic fungus, besides having alternative metabolites, have antioxidant properties, which are able to remove toxic free radicals. These results could have valuable effects in medicine and industry.

Background & objectives: The import of heavy metals into various sources of drinking water supply is one of the major problems of water quality, especially in industrial areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of mercury and arsenic metal pollutants to be removed from aqueous solutions using green oxide nanoparticles synthesized by green method. For this purpose, the extract from an indigenous lichen sample of Ardabil province was used as a sorbent for synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles. Methods: For the preparation of magnetized iron oxide nanoparticles, a fast and common method called co-adsorption was used. In this method, a mixture of bivalent and trivalent iron salts with a specified stoichiometric ratio is added to a certain volume of the extract obtained from Sinensis RAMALINA (SR). Due to the use of lichen in the process of synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles, the method used in the present study is also referred to as the green synthesis method. UV-Vis spectrophotometry, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and EDX elemental analysis were used to confirm the synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles. Results: In the spectrophotometer spectrum, the peak appearing at 574± 5 cm-1 indicates the transfer of oxygen electrons to the iron synthesized from SR lichens. The XRD spectrum also confirms the purity of the iron oxide nanoparticles, as the diffraction pattern was correctly obtained at 2θ =30. 40, 35. 75, 43. 60, 57. 90, 63. 60. The uniform spherical nature of the iron oxide (III) nanoparticles with a size between 31. 74 to 53. 91 nm can be seen using SEM images. EDX analysis was also used to show the elemental structure of the synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles. Elemental analysis revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles contained 19. 68% by weight of iron and 51. 49% by weight of oxygen. Conclusion: Studies showed that mercury follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model (R2=0. 998) and arsenic follows the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model (R2=0. 968) and the removal process in both metals is spontaneous and exothermic. The data obtained from the kinetic studies of removal of both metals from aqueous solutions were fitted to the pseudosecond-order kinetic model with an appropriate correlation coefficient above 0. 99. The ability to remove arsenic and mercury by magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by SR plant extract was 71. 02% and 72. 84% at pH=4 and initial concentration of 50 mg/l, respectively.

Background: Infectious diseases are an important cause of mortality in the world. Because of resistance of some human pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics, use of natural and herbal medicine is increasing to control these factors. The aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial effects of RAMALINA hyrcana Sipman lichens against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Materials and Methods: The lichen ethanol extract was prepared by using a rotary machine. Nine standard strains of Gram- positive and Gram -negative bacteria were cultured in nutrient broth. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the micro dilution method.Results: The results of this study showed that the lichen R. hyrcana extract in different concentrations inhibited both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results showed that the lichen extract of all concentrations inhibited of Staphylococcus aureus. After S. aureus bacteria inhibition, the minimum inhibitory concentrations are for Hafnia and Acinetobacter (12.5 ppm).Conclusion: According to the results and other reports in this area, lichen R. hyrcana extract could be introduced as a biological control agent. However, for the use of different lichen extracts for clinical application, the chemical analysis of extracts and clinical research is necessary.

Several lichen species have been used for medicinal purposes throughout the ages, and they were reported to be effective in the treatment of different disorders including tuberculosis, hemorrhoids, ulcer, dysentery and cancer. It is revealed that they may be easily accessible sources of natural drugs that could be used as a possible food supplement or in pharmaceutical industry after their safety evaluations. However, so far, the nature and/or biological roles of plenty of lichenes have not been elucidated exactly. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic and oxidative effects of water extracts of three different lichen species; Hypogymnia physodes, RAMALINA polymorpha and Usnea florida in cultured human blood cells (n=5) for the first time. All lichen species were collected from the Erzurum and Artvin provinces (in Turkey) during August 2010. The lichen extracts were added into culture tubes at various concentrations (0 to 2000 mg/L). Chromosome aberrations (CA) and micronucleus (MN) tests were used for genotoxic influences estimation. In addition, biochemical parameters (total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative stress (TOS)) were examined to determine oxidative effects. In our in-vitro test systems, it was observed that all tested lichen extracts had no mutagenic effects on human lymphocytes. Furthermore, these extracts exhibited antioxidant properties due to the type of lichen species added to the cultures. In conclusion, these lichens can be a new resource of therapeutics as recognized in this study with their non-mutagenic and antioxidant features.

Background: Nowadays, biosynthesis of nanoparticles is considered because of its low energy requirements and risk. In present study, silver nanoparticles produced by two species of lichens “Usnea articulata” and “RAMALINA sinensis”. Furthermore, the antibacterial effects of nanoparticles were studied.Materials and Methods: To produce silver nanoparticles, lichens aqueous extract was placed in the vicinity of 1mmol of the silver nitrate solution. The production of nanoparticles was studied by spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The antibacterial effect of the produced silver nanoparticles was investigated by agar well diffusion method against Escherichia coli Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus.Results: The biosynthesized nanoparticles by two types of lichens had a maximum absorption at the wavelengths of 450 and 480 nm. Also, the presence of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD method. The size of silver nanoparticles produced by Usnea articulata was about 10 to 50 nm and the nanoparticles produced by RAMALINA sinensis around was 50 to 80 nm. The antibacterial test of the nanoparticles showed a good inhibitory effect against all four bacteria.Conclusion: Lichens can be a good choice to produce silver nanoparticles, due to the abundance, fast growth, and environmental sustainability. The results of present study showed that biosynthesized silver nanoparticles had an effective inhibitory activity against bacteria. Therefore, these nanoparticles can be used in various industries.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the adaptability of three species of lichens in spring, summer and winter. To this end, antioxidant enzyme activities of three species of lichens from Moghan plain were studied. Lichens of Lecanora muralis and RAMALINA farinacea were gathered randomly from mountains of Angout (Tazeh Kand city in Ardabil province). Also the lichen of Xanthoria parietina were collected randomly from Catalpa bignonioides tree around the lake of Pars Abad, Moghan Town. The results revealed that the activities of antioxidant enzymes of peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, and superoxide dismutase in all three lichens were higher in winter (cold season) and summer (warm season) than those of spring. Superoxide dismutase and polyphenol oxidase enzymes in two species of L. muralis and R. farinacea showed a significant increase in the summer and catalase and peroxidase enzymes in these two species had a significant increase in the winter. In the species X. parientina, peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes showed a significant increase in the summer. Therefore, the results suggest that changes of antioxidants enzymes probably lead to seasonal compatibility in these species.