Antibacterial Potential of Six Seaweeds Collected from Gulf of Mannar of Southeast Coast of India

This work reported on the in vitro antibacterial activity of six selected marine algae (seaweeds) which have been selected and their extracts have been tested as an alternative to commonly used antibiotics. Extracts of six seaweed samples namely Codium decorticatum, Caulerpa scalpelliformis, Gracilaria crassa, Acanthophora spicifera, Sargassum wightii and Turbinaria conoides were collected from Gulf of Mannar, southeast cost region, Mandapam, Tamil nadu, India. were selected for antibacterial activity extract solvents viz., Acetone, Methanol, Chloroform, Diethyl ether, Ethyl acetate, Hexane and aqueous were listed against selected human pathogens such as species Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella sp, Shewanella sp, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis. All the seaweeds extracts have shown moderate antibacterial activity <10mm of zone of inhibition, out of which only Methanolic extract has shown significant activity. Results showed higher antibacterial activity were found in Acanthophora spicifera and minimum found in Codium decorticatum. From these further studies on phytochemical analysis of seaweeds is necessitated to confirm them as a better source for antimicrobial properties.