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The archipelagic country of Indonesia is inhabited by 300 ethnic groups, including the indigenous people of Tengger. Based on the reported list of medicinal plants used by the Tengger community, we have reviewed each of them for their phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities. Out of a total of 41 medicinal plants used by the Tengerrese people, 33 species were studied for their phytochemical and pharmacological properties. More than 554 phytochemicals with diverse molecular structures belonging to different chemical classes including flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and volatiles were identified from these studied 34 medicinal plants. Many of these medicinal plants and their compounds have been tested for various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, wound healing, headache, antimalarial and hypertension. Five popularly used medicinal plants by the healers were Garcinia mangostana, Apium graveolens, Cayratia clematidea, Drymocallis arguta and Elaeocarpus longifolius. Only A. graviolens were previously studied, with the outcomes supporting the pharmacological claims to treat hypertension. Few unexplored medicinal plants are Physalis lagascae, Piper amplum, Rosa tomentosa and Tagetes tenuifolia, and they present great potential for biodiscovery and drug lead identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need for novel drug leads, especially for microbial infections due to continuing emergence of drug resistance. Natural products are the backbone of modern medicine and the lichens have an important role to play in the discovery of novel drugs. Indonesia is gifted with a diverse array of lichens, which remain underexplored for medicinal applications. In this study, we have collected a lichen, Candelaria fibrosa, and conducted phytochemical and bioactivity studies. Using high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we have isolated and characterised two depside compounds, atraric acid (7) and methyl 3-hydroxy orsellinate (8). These two depsides were reported from this lichen species for the first time. The evaluation of the crude methanol extract against Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, indicated insignificant activity. However, the isolated compounds have been previously reported to possess low antimicrobial activity against common pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) but to show significant anti-legionellosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Meru Betiri National Park in Indonesia is host to more than 266 medicinal plants species, of which 10 were investigated for their phytochemicals as well as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. A majority of the tested plant species contained polyphenols. The crude leaf extracts of Dioscorea esculenta possessed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 of 26.8 µg mL−1. Escherichia coli was sensitive to Bryophyllum pinnatum and Hibiscus tilliaceus leaf extracts with similar minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 250 µg mL−1. Klebsiella pneumoniae was sensitive to Moringa oleifera leaf extract with MIC of 125 µg mL−1. Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive to leaf extracts of Hibiscus tilliaceus with MIC of 62.5 µg mL−1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was sensitive to Lunasia amara leaf extract with MIC of 125 µg mL−1. Autobiographic TLC confirmed the presence of anti-microbial constituents in L. amara leaf extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichen is a unique composite organism that arises from algae and fungi symbiotic relationship. There are 18,500 recorded lichen species worldwide but only limited number of global species has been tested for their biological activities. In particular, Indonesian lichens are rarely investigated. In this study, we collected and identified nine lichen species from six different locations in East Java Indonesia and screened their crude methanol extracts against gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and cancer cells (MCF7, Widr and Hela). While only the methanol extract of Parmelia cetrata Ach and Parmelia dilatata Vain inhibited Pseudomonas aeruginosa, most lichen extracts possessed moderate cytotoxicity. Cladonia scabriuscula methanol extract was cytotoxic against MCF7, Widr and Hela cell lines with IC50 value of 324, 324, 476 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, methanol extract of Physcia cf. millegrana Degel indicated cytotoxicity against Hela cell line with IC50 value of 137 µg/mL. This study revealed anticancer potency of lichen of Java Island for the first time and further research is necessary for isolating the bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]