Antioxidant activity of lichen species

Abstract

The pharmacological interest of lichens lies in their ability to produce bioactive secondary metabolites, being most of them phenolic compounds with reactive hydroxyl groups which confer antioxidant potential through multiple mechanisms. The increasing incidence and impact of oxidative stress-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, has promoted the search of new pharmacological strategies for control purposes. The information compiled in this review comes from in vitro research, on cell substrates and animal models, which allows us to affirm that lichens constitute, in the field of natural products, a promising source of compounds, many of them phenolic, with antioxidant activity. Keywords: lichens; pharmacology; antioxidant; secondary metabolites