Antimicrobial and Phytochemical Analysis of Pithophora varia
Maruthanayagam Alaguprathana *
Department of Zoology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, 641 043, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
Mani Poonkothai
Department of Zoology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, 641 043, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study is aimed to investigate the antimicrobial as well as phytochemical constituents of fresh water green algae Pithophora varia. The algae was extracted with acetone, benzene, chloroform and ethanol separately. The extracts were screened for antibacterial activity against two Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) and five Gram negative (Klebsilla pneumoniae, Proteus vulgarius, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Salmonella typhi and E. coli) bacteria and the antifungal activity was assessed against Aspergillus niger, Trichodrma sp., Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus using agar well diffusion assay. The ethanol extract of P.varia was showed significant antibacterial as well as antifungal activity against Bacillus subtilis, E. coli and Trichodrma sp, Aspergillus niger separately. The zone of inhibition range from 18-20 mm respectively. The phytochemicals present in algal extracts are alkaloids, phenols, amino acids, saponins, tannins, steroids, flavonoids and Quinones. Each active compound shows different activities against different types of diseases like cancer, liver disorders, diabetes, arthrosclerosis and inflammatory diseases. The results showed that the P. varia extract have great potential as antimicrobial and phytochemical compounds against microorganism and they can be used in the treatment of diseases caused by resistant microorganisms.
Keywords: Pithophora varia, algal extract, bacterial strain, antibacterial activity, bioactive compounds