Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of a lichen species, Cladonia rangiformis growing in Turkey

The antioxidant activity (AA), reducing power (RP) and total phenolic compounds (TPC) of chloroform, methanol and water extracts of a lichen species, Cladonia rangiformis, was determined, in vitro. The chloroform extract of C. rangiformis showed significant antioxidant activity (p<0.05), although this activity was lower than that of trolox (positive control). Likewise, the chloroform extract of C. rangiformis contained the highest phenolic content as gallic acid equivalent (μg/ml-1), its followed by the methanol and water extracts. However the reducing power assay of the methanol extract of C. rangiformis was higher than chloroform and water extracts. Antimicrobial activities of these extracts against 42 microorganisms consisting of 26 bacterial strains, 15 fungi and a yeast were also studied by using disk diffusion method. The extracts exhibited a weak antimicrobial activity against very limited number of microorganisms. However, extracts showed no antifungal activity.