Abstract:

The use of lichens as food, medicine in dyes and perfumes and crude drugs is very common all over the world. It is so important to determine whether their use is safe or not and which doses should be used. In the present study, the genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of methanol extracts of Umbilicaria cylindirica and Umbilicaria nylanderiana were investigated by using sister chromatid exchange in human lymphocytes against Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and the bacterial reverse mutation assay in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 and TA1537 strains and in Escherichia coli WP2 uvrA strain against Sodium azide (NaN3), 9-Aminoacridine (9-AA) and N-Methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), respectively. Furthermore, in order to evaluate antioxidant effect of the tested materials, the main antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were determined. At the end of the study, it was observed that Umbilicaria cylindirica and Umbilicaria nylanderiana exhibit no mutagenic activity, but significantly antimutagenic activity against all the different doses of mutagens and antioxidative activity against oxidative stress caused by AFB1.

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