Table 5. Scavenging effect of high altitude cold desert saxicolous lichens on β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching assay and nitric oxide radicals^a.

Lichen species	β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching assay (IC50/RSa50), mg/ml			Nitric oxide (IC50/RSa50), mg/ml
	Water	Methanol	n-Hexane	Water	Methanol	n-Hexane
Dermatocarpon vellereum	1.33±0.10	1.01±0.11*	5.74±0.10*#	18.56±0.10	14.06±0.10*	6.29±0.10*#
Umbilicaria vellea	0.50±0.10	2.41±0.11*	0.57±0.08#	8.11±0.11	3.55±0.09*	2.11±0.11*#
Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca	0.56±0.09	0.52±0.11	1.14±0.10*#	28.33±0.09	17.91±0.11*	1.39±0.11*#
Rhizoplaca melanophthalma	0.53±0.10	1.85±0.09*	0.76±0.10*#	4.15±0.09	4.06±0.11	3.31±0.10*#
Pleopsidium flavum	0.76±0.09	0.89±0.10	0.45±0.10*#	3.98±0.09	4.37±0.07*	4.12±0.11#
Xanthoparmelia mexicana	0.14±0.08	0.38±0.05*	1.12±0.10*#	7.25±0.08	4.14±0.09*	5.09±0.10*#
Acarospora badiofusca	0.37±0.08	0.32±0.10	0.34±0.11	2.82±0.10	8.71±0.10*	4.27±0.07*#
Xanthoria elegans	0.08±0.01	0.88±0.10*	0.42±0.10*#	4.97±0.10	6.24±0.10*	2.75±0.08*#
Lecanora frustulosa	0.20±0.10	0.31±0.11	0.49±0.10*	7.21±0.11	18.61±0.10*	3.33±0.09*#
Lobothallia alphoplaca	0.28±0.09	0.39±0.10	0.50±0.10*	4.27±0.09	1.75±0.09*	5.24±0.11*#
Physconia muscigena	0.32±0.10	0.27±0.08	0.52±0.10#	4.62±0.10	13.59±0.10*	2.61±0.09*#
Melanelia disjuncta	0.54±0.08	0.18±0.08*	0.62±0.10#	0.75±0.09	11.20±0.10*	5.96±0.09*#
Xanthoparmelia stenophylla	0.62±0.11	0.22±0.11*	0.33±0.11*	3.26±0.07	8.69±0.11*	7.13±0.11*#
Peccania coralloides	1.71±0.10	0.22±0.10*	1.64±0.11#	1.46±0.13	12.56±0.10*	2.26±0.10*#
BHTb	0.04±0.01$			0.15±0.04$

^aMean ±SD of three replicates; ^bButylated hydroxytoluene

p<0.05: *compared with water extract; ^#compared with methanol extract; ^$compared with all lichen extracts.