In-vitro Study on Anthelmintic and Insecticidal Activity of Macrolichens Collected from South Karnataka

In the present study, lichen samples were collected from the southern Karnataka state and were used for in-vitro anthelmintic and insecticidal activity. The three lichen samples Parmotrema tinctorum (Nyl.) Hale, Roccella montagnei Bèl. Emend. Awas, Everniastrum cirrhatum (Fr.) Hale was subjected to the extraction with solvents. The prepared extracts from the lichen species were evaluated for anthelmintic activity against Pheretima posthuma. 100% mortality was obtained from all the samples and it was compared with the reference drug albendazole for positive control. P. tinctorum methanolic extract showed the fastest result but on the other side, the slowest result was observed in the hexane extract. The insecticidal activity of the crude extracts of the lichens was tested against two insects Macrosiphum rosae (L.) and Sitophilus oryzae (L.). There was a 100% mortality rate observed in R. montagnei and E. cirrhatum methanolic extracts against M. rosae. In S. oryzae the methanolic extracts of P. tinctorum and E. cirrhatum with 75 and 50% mortality rates at 42 and 48 hours was observed. The promising results of lichen extracts towards insecticidal and anthelmintic activity were found to be a potential candidate for drug discovery and development against biopesticides.