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Context Since methods utilised in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are inadequate and have too many side effects, usage of herbal products in the treatment process comes into prominence. Lichens are symbiotic organisms used for medicinal purposes for many years. There are various anticancer treatments about components of two lichen species used in the present study. Objective Antitumor potential of three lichen secondary metabolites including olivetoric acid (OLA) and physodic acid (PHA) isolated from Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf (Parmeliaceae) and psoromic acid (PSA) isolated from Rhizoplaca melanophthalma (DC.) Leuckert (Lecanoraceae) were investigated on human U87MG-GBM cell lines and primary rat cerebral cortex (PRCC) cells for the first time. Materials and methods PRCC cells used as healthy brain cells were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats. The treatments were carried out on the cells cultured for 48 h. Cytotoxic effects of different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/L) of metabolites on the cells were determined via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) analyses. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS) parameters were used for assessing oxidative alterations. Oxidative DNA damage potentials of metabolites were investigated via evaluating 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) levels. Results Median inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of OLA, PHA and PSA were 125.71, 698.19 and 79.40 mg/L for PRCC cells and 17.55, 410.72 and 56.22 mg/L for U87MG cells, respectively. It was revealed that cytotoxic effects of these metabolites showed positive correlation with concentration, LDH activity and oxidative DNA damage. Discussion and conclusion The present findings obtained in this study revealed that primarily OLA and then PSA had high potential for use in the treatment of GBM.

The antimicrobial activity and the MIC values of the ethanol, chloroform, diethyl ether, and acetone extracts of the chemical races of Pseudevernia furfuracea (var. furfuracea and var. ceratea) and their physodic acid, chloroatranorin, atranorin, and olivetoric acid constituents have been investigated against some microorganisms. Nearly all extracts of both chemical races showed antimicrobial activity against Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, Yersinia enterocolitica, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Alternaria alternata, Ascochyta rabiei, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium moniliforme, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, and Penicillium notatum. There was no antimicrobial activity of the extracts against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas syringae, Salmonella typhimurium, Alternaria citri, Alternaria tenuissima, and Gaeumannomyces graminis. Chloroatranorin and olivetoric acid were active against the same microorganisms with few exceptions. Physodic acid was active against about the same bacteria and yeasts and inactive against all of the filamentous fungi tested. Also no activity of atranorin against the filamentous fungi was observed.