A Comprehensive Review on Secondary Metabolite of Lichens

Unique organisms and lichen-forming fungi produce physiologically active compounds with a wide range of actions, including cytotoxic, antimycobacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, and antiproliferative properties. Nevertheless, very few lichen compounds have been examined for their biological and medicinal properties in medicine. This is undoubtedly a result of the challenges involved in species identification, bulk quantity collection, and isolation of pure chemicals for testing and structural determination. This involves synthesizing natural products or their derivatives for testing, extracting targeted chemicals, or using axenic cultures to produce new or authentic substances. Synthetic antioxidants that are often utilized are thought to have harmful and cancer-causing properties. As a result, there is an increasing interest in discovering novel natural resource antioxidants that are free of unwanted effects. Numerous in vitro investigations on plants, macromycetes, micro- and macroalgae, and lichens have provided compelling evidence that their antioxidant-capable elements can protect biological systems from oxidative stress. Because natural antioxidants have a preventive effect against oxidative stress and physiological dysfunction, their use is crucial. Lichens have piqued our interest in the search for novel natural antioxidant sources. Secondary metabolites, mainly phenols, which are well recognized for their antioxidant properties, are abundant in lichens.