Vegetos

Abstract

The present study investigates the endolichenic fungal diversity in selected lichens grown on silver oak trees located in Yercaud hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Further the study evaluated the biological potential of secondary metabolites produced by endolichenic fungal isolates for their applications in pharmaceutical sector. Parmotrema tinctorum, Parmotrema grayanam, Parmotrema reticulatum, Parmotrema austrosinense, Heterodermia speciosa and Pyxiene petricola were collected from silver oak trees. Ten endolichenic fungal strains have been isolated from the lichen samples. Parmotrema tinctorum resulted five endolichenic fungal isolates. Microwave assisted extraction was followed for the extraction of secondary metabolites from the fungal isolates. Antimicrobial study revealed that the fungal metabolites exhibited good inhibition potential against the tested pathogens. Fungal isolates obtained from Parmotrema tinctorum have shown significant antioxidant activity.