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Comparative analysis of the antioxidant properties of I celandic and H awaiian lichens
Author(s) -
Hagiwara Kehau,
Wright Patrick R.,
Tabandera Nicole K.,
Kelman Dovi,
Backofen Rolf,
Ómarsdóttir Sesselja,
Wright Anthony D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12850
Subject(s) - lichen , antioxidant , biology , dpph , botany , algae , food science , biochemistry
Summary Antioxidant activity of symbiotic organisms known as lichens is an intriguing field of research because of its strong contribution to their ability to withstand extremes of physical and biological stress (e.g. desiccation, temperature, UV radiation and microbial infection). We present a comparative study on the antioxidant activities of 76 I celandic and 41 H awaiian lichen samples assessed employing the DPPH ‐ and FRAP ‐based antioxidant assays. Utilizing this unprecedented sample size, we show that while highest individual sample activity is present in the I celandic dataset, the overall antioxidant activity is higher for lichens found in H awaii. Furthermore, we report that lichens from the genus P eltigera that have been described as strong antioxidant producers in studies on C hinese, R ussian and T urkish lichens also show high antioxidant activities in both I celandic and H awaiian lichen samples. Finally, we show that opportunistic sampling of lichens in both I celand and H awaii will yield high numbers of lichen species that exclusively include green algae as photobiont.