Lichens are well-known organism
used as colouring agent since ancient times. Earlier traditional cow
urine method (CUM) was employed for extraction of dyes from lichens
which was replaced with ammonia fermentation method (AFM) and later
boiling water method (BWM) was introduced. In addition to the
traditional methods,
DMSO
extraction method (DEM) used for extraction of lichen dyes is described
with the underlying chemical reactions. Lichens are extremely
slow-growing organism, and reports reveal that optimally grown mycobiont
(fungal part of lichen) can also produce lichen compounds which are
responsible for production of coloured pigments. Thus, cultured
mycobiont can be used for extraction of dyes. The growth of mycobiont
can be enhanced after manipulating the culture media to obtain greater
biomass. Lichen mycobiont culture or lichen culture in laboratory will
not only provide useful information about the potential dye-yielding
lichens but also help to conserve these unique and peculiar slow-growing
organisms in nature. Information on extraction of lichen dyes from
natural thallus and from cultured mycobiont of lichens and dye yield of
different lichen taxa are provided in the present study.