Analysis of Antimicrobial Properties of Lichen Taxa Usnea eumitrioides Motyka against Plant Pathogens Lichens

Abstract

Fresh samples of fruticose lichen (Usnea eumitrioides) were collected from a Quercus Forest of a temperate region, Almora, Uttarakhand Himalaya. This lichen species abundantly occurred from temperate to alpine regions. The lichen genus Usnea is a good source of secondary metabolites and applied in the treatment of various diseases. In the present investigation Usnea eumitrioides was studied for its antimicrobial activity. It was obtained against five bacterial and two fungal pathogens respectively in solvent extract of ethanol and ethyl acetate. It was observed that it shows antimicrobial activity against all the tested plant pathogens. The ethyl acetate extract shows significant inhibitory effects on the growth of Pseudomonas syringae with a mean area of inhibition 7.47±0.057 mm at a concentration of 0.2 mg/ml. While the ethanol extract obtained from lichen exhibited the higher inhibitory activity against P. syringae and it showed poor activity against P. aeruginosa. The study concluded that lichens have a great potential to treat and manage the diseases affecting humans, animals and plants.