222 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE
such as sun-induced pigmentation and anti-aging.36,37 Although lichens are known to be a
potential source of antioxidants, their slow growth and limited numbers restrict their use
in the cosmetics industry. From this point of view, the determination of high antioxidant
content in ELF extracts in our study shows that it can be evaluated as a potential antioxidant
source in cosmetic products and can be used as a sustainable and environmentally friendly
source with economic benefits.
The TPC was calculated in terms of gallic acid equivalent. Although L. pulmonaria had
the highest phenolic content among the lichen species (86.53 mg GAE/g), the phenolic
contents of ELF extracts isolated from this lichen were found to be quite low. On the other
hand, T20-B02 and T20-P26 isolated from B. capillaris had the highest phenolic content,
with 128.87 mg GAE/g and 129.37 mg GAE/g, respectively, similarly to these extract total
antioxidant activities. The TPC of Usnea sp. mg GAE/gTPC activities of the ELF samples
showed similar results to Usnea sp. As a result, it was found that the majority of ELF
extracts had lower TPC activities than their host lichen species. The reason for this finding
may be due to exposure of lichens to various environmental factors such as temperature,
pressure, light, and wind in their surrounding environments. These different environmental
conditions provide the production of secondary metabolites of lichens and increase their
bioactivity. Due to the high phenolic contents of T20-B02 and T20-P26 isolated from
B.capillaris and T22-B07 ELF samples isolated from Usnea sp., we may suggest that they
can be used as potential sources in cosmetic industry.
When the total flavonoid content (TFC) was examined, L. pulmonaria did not show any TFC
activity, but the TFC activities of ELF extracts isolated from this species were found to be
in the range of 204.75–399.33 mg rutin/g. Similarly, no results were found for B. capillaris,
but the amount of flavonoids in the ELF extracts isolated from these lichens ranged from
51.45–373.93 mg rutin/g. Although the TFC value of Usnea sp. was found to be 263.32 mg
rutin/g, the TFC values of ELF extracts isolated from this species were lower than those
isolated from the lichen.
Lichen samples are a natural source of antioxidants.38,39 However, their slow growth in
nature limits their active use in industries such as cosmetics, despite their high antioxidant
activity. For this reason, it is thought that it is important to determine the bioactivities,
especially the antioxidant activities, of ELF samples isolated from lichens. In particular,
it has been reported that the antioxidant activity of the (3R)-5-hydroxymellein (150)
compound of ELF000039 species isolated from Parmotrema austrosinense lichen was found to
be high with an IC50 value of 1,170.8 µg/mL.40 Also, two new polyketides from Curvularia
trifolii isolated from Usnea sp. exhibited antioxidant activities with IC50 values of 4 and
1.3 mg/ml, respectively.41 However, studies on the bioactivities of ELF samples are limited,
and further detailed researches are needed.
Poornima et al. investigated the total antioxidant and phenolic contents of ELF extracts
isolated from different lichen species. They reported varying results in the total antioxidant
activities (10–90%) of ELF extracts isolated from different lichen species.42 They also
reported similar results in the total phenolic contents to those of the total antioxidant
activities. Similarly, the total antioxidant, phenolic, and flavonoid contents of ELF extracts
isolated from three different Usnea lichens were determined. They reported that the ELF
extracts had strong antioxidant activity, while the total phenolic and flavonoid content
results showed differences.43 According to the literature, there is a positive correlation
between antioxidant activity and phenolic content.44,45 Similar to this data, we also observed
a positive correlation between TPC of T20-B02 and T20-P26 isolated from the species B.

223 ENDOLICHENIC FUNGI EXTRACTS
capillaris, and T22-P07 and T22-B07 isolated from Usnea sp. and their antioxidant activities.
In addition, flavonoid contents prevent the formation of free oxygen radicals caused by UV.
In this study, it is anticipated that the high flavonoid levels of ELF extracts isolated from
L. pulmonaria species between 204.75–399.33 mg rutin/g can be used as supporting agents
in cosmetic products for protection against the harmful effects of UV rays. The differences
among species may be due to environmental factors such as the host plant, temperature,
light, and wind, as well as the concentration of the extracts used in the experiment. Our
study suggests that some endolichenic fungi isolated from lichens have higher antioxidant,
phenolic, and flavonoid contents than the lichens themselves, making them a potential
source of natural antioxidants for the cosmetics industry. Specifically, B.capillaris isolated
T20-B02, T20-P26, and Usnea sp. isolated T22-B07 could be produced in the laboratory
and used as sustainable natural sources of antioxidants in the cosmetics industry.
IN VITRO SUN PROTECTION ACTIVITY
“SPF is a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn
on protected skin (i.e., in the presence of sunscreen) relative to the amount of solar energy
required to produce sunburn on unprotected skin. As the SPF value increases, sunburn
protection increases.” Furthermore, SPF number is important data for quantifying the
effectiveness of sunscreen.46 SPF values are categorized as a minimum (2–12), moderate
(12–30), and high (≥ 30).47 In the cosmetics industry, herbal extracts have been used as
sunscreen for a long time.48 However, lichens have adapted to live in a variety of hazardous
conditions, including high UV radiation levels.49 To protect them from the damaging
effects of UV rays, they produce a variety of special metabolites during this process that have
antioxidant and photoprotective properties.50,51 It has been reported that lichen compounds
may be good candidates for potent UV blockers due to their wide variety of photoprotective
metabolites. For example, pulvinic acid derivatives obtained from lichen specimens protect
against UVA, while usnic acid protects against UVB.52 Some lichen species live in regions
with intense UVR. This suggests that lichens, like plants, can be considered an alternative
source as they synthesize unique metabolites to protect themselves under intense UV.53
Lichens can be preferred as an alternative to plants for sunscreen creams due to their
protective properties.
In the present study, SPF values of the tested lichen species and ELF extracts from isolating
them (1 mg/mL) were determined. Rutin, used as a standard in the experiments, showed
an SPF number of 32.11. SPF values of tested lichen species and isolated ELF extracts are
shown in Table III. SPF values of lichen samples were 31.45 for L. Pulmonaria and 31.78
for B. capillaris and Usnea sp. It was found to be 31.80 for the patient, showing that the
effectiveness of sun protection is high when compared to rutine. On the other hand, these
high SPF values detected in lichen extracts could not be detected in the isolated ELF
extracts from L. pulmonaria, T04-P01 and T04-P13, and remained at low SPF values of
6.54 and 9.44, respectively. For the T04-P03 extract from L. pulmonaria, sun protection
activity was found be moderate (29.91). The extracts from B. capillaris, T20-P07 (7.17) and
T20-P10 (8.41), had minimum SPF values, but T20-B02 (29.56), T20-P26 (30.46), and
T20-P27 (29.36) had moderate to high SPF values. ELF extracts from Usnea sp., T22-P07
(32.01) and T22-B07 (30.55), were found to have high SPF values.
Overall, the SPF values of the three different lichen extracts evaluated in this study are
quite high. Especially, the T04-P03, T20-B02, T20-P26, T20-P27, T22-P07, and T22-B07