Antibacterial properties of the microalgae Chaetoceros calcitrans

Abstract

The antibacterial properties of the microalgae Chaetoceros calcitrans were assessed. Samples of C. calcitrans were first extracted in methanol, and then in different organic solvents of increasing polarity, n-hexane (n-Hex), dichloromethane (DCM) and ethyl acetate (EA) by liquid-liquid extraction. Solvent extracts were screened for antibacterial activity against four species of bacteria: Gram positive, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis; and Gram negative, Escherichia coli and Vibrio harveyi, with Amoxicillin as positive control, N-Hex extract, with significantly lower antibacterial activity than Amoxicillin, showed significantly higher activity than DCM and EA extracts, and least in methanolic extract. High antibacterial activity of n-Hex extract against all the microorganisms indicates that the bioactive components could be non-polar since the activity decreased as the solvent became more polar like methanol, and finally lost in aqueous extract. Results also showed that the extracts have a broad spectrum activity. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of all solvent extracts on all microorganisms tested ranged from 125 to 500 μg.mL^-1. Partial purification and characterisation of the extracts confirmed the antibacterial activity in the non-polar fraction, which could be terpenes. The results suggest a good prospect in using C. calcitrans against Vibrio and other bacterial species.