Vol. 8, Issue 4 (2019)

Author(s):
Sujatha Ravi, VN Hameetha Banu and P Mohideen Askar Nawas

Abstract:
To evaluate the phytochemical screening, in vitro antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity of marine red algae such as Jania rubens. The marine red algae Jania rubens was collected from Kilakarai region located between 9.23135° N, 78.7844° E Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. The algal extract was prepared from different solvents namely aqueous, ethanol, methanol, acetone and was tested for their primary phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity such as DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity and antibacterial activity against human pathogens viz., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stephylococcus aureus and fish pathogens viz., Aeromonas hydrophila and Vibrio vulnificus bacteria using disc diffusion methods. Preliminary phytochemical screening of sixteen different chemical compounds were carried out. The maximum biochemical compounds were present in the ethanol extract and the minimum compounds were present in aqueous extract. The ethanol extract was significantly higher in DPPH radical scavenging activity (43.23±0.7 µg/ml) and ABTS radical scavenging activity (33.66±1.5 µg/ml). In human pathogen the highest antibacterial activity was present in S. aureus (22.00±1.0mm) likewise the fish pathogen the antibacterial activity was increase in Aeromonas hydrophila (22.66±0.5mm). The present work shows a comparable therapeutic potency of the tested seaweed members Jania rubens extracts in treating human and fish microbial pathogens to synthetic chemical antibiotics. The present study showed that the ethanol extract of marine red seaweed Jania rubens contains bio active constituents with highest antibacterial activity.