The genus Cladonia Wigg. is widely distributed worldwide and for the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic islands presents a richness of approximately 30 species. This work aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and cholinesterase activity of Cladonia gracilis (L.) Willd. and Cladonia chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Sprengel species. The lichenic material was collected in Ardley Island, Maxwell Bay, King George Island in the Antarctic continent; after drying, ethanolic extracts and concentration in a rotary evaporator were performed. The resulting solid was evaluated for antioxidant capacity: ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) retention, total phenols (FeT), total flavonoids (FlaT), and free radical trapping capacity (ORAC); the enzymatic inhibition activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was also evaluated. For FRAP assay C. gracilis and C. chlorophaea obtained similar values with 0.108±0.003 and 0.118±0.018, respectively; in DPPH C. gracilis and C. chlorophaea showed medium-high values with IC50 of 487.5 µg/mL and IC50 of 485.7 µg/mL, respectively; for FeT C. gracilis presented 0.318±0.022 mgEAG/g and C. chlorophaea 0.457±0.012 mgEAG/g; for FlaT the extract of C. gracilis presented 0.426±0.005 mgEQ/g and C. chlorophaea 0.205±0.006 mgEQ/g; in ORAC the extracts of C. gracilis and C. chlorophaea obtained close values with 223.088 µM/g and 271.483 µM/g, respectively. In enzyme inhibition assays, the extracts of the two species showed similar high inhibition of AChE (C. gracilis-IC50: 6.211±0.055 µg/mL and C. chlorophae- IC50: 4.204±0.061 µg/mL), compared to the differences in BuChE inhibition exhibited by C. gracilis extract (IC50: 9.105±0.065 µg/mL) with C. chlorophae (IC50: 5.938±0.068 µg/mL). These species present important biological activity and constitute natural materials with potential for medical research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Funding: INACH RT-16-17.
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