Cultivation of Anabena variabilis, Synechococcus elongatus, Spirulina platensis for the production of C-Phycocyanin, C-Phycoerythrin and Thalassiosira, Skeletonema, Chaetoceros for fucoxanthin

Abstract

The pigments are vital parts of photosynthetic machinery in algae and exhibit a myriad of applications as nutraceuticals, cosmetics, colorants, which find huge applications in many industires, including the paint industry and paper industry. The antimicrobial, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer potential of microalgal pigments contribute towards their varied industrial applications. In this study, pigments (Fucoxanthin, C-phycocyanin, and C-phycoerythrin), extracted from microalgae were investigated to check the antimicrobial efficacy using agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods against pathogenic bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The fucoxanthin pigment isolated from diatom Thalassiosira sp. exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (17 ± 1.53 mm) and in contrast fucoxanthin pigment isolated from Chaetoceroes sp. exhibited the highest bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli (18 ± 1). The pigment extract of Spirulina plantesis showed the highest antibacterial activity against E. coli (41 ± 0.3) and S. elongatus also exhibited high antibacterial activity against E. coli (32 ± 0.5) while Anabaena variabilis showed the highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (34 ± 0.5). The potential of microalgal pigments is highly valuable and further extensive studies can elaborate the underlying mechanisms.

Funding

Department of Biotechnology , Ministry of Science and Technology,(BT/PR/15650/AAQ/3/815/2016)