Investigating the applications of Chlorella vulgaris in agriculture and nanosilver production y

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the dual beneficial effect of C. vulgaris as biofertilizer and antimicrobial agent in the form of nano particles. Methodology: The antibacterial effect of aqueous extract was investigated by diffusion disk bioassay against five pathogenic bacterial strains. The plant growth promoting effect was investigated by performing germination tests on three types of seeds and measuring their morphometric growth parameters. The silver nanoparticles biosynthetic ability of alga was investigated by incubating with silver nitrate solution. The biogenic nanosilver was tested against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aereus(MRSA). Results: The antibacterial effect of the extract, despite being derived from a miniscule biomass, was detected against all pathogenic strains. The inhibition zones ranged from 0.7 to 1 cm. In addition, the aqueous extract was effective bio-fertiliser that resulted in a significant increase in germination ne percentage and growth parameters of Eruca sativa, Lepidium sativum and Vigna radiata seedlings. Furthermore, the silver nanoparticles were observed to form both intra- and extracellularly. The UV –visible spectrum of nanoparticles showed a characteristic broad peak at 421-425 nm, while IR showed the presence of characteristic signal at 3297cm-1. The nanosilver particles were effective antimicrobial agents against multi-drug resistant MRSA. Interpretation: The results emphasize the multiple potential of C. vulgaris, which indicates its great potential if grown on a large scale for mass production. The present research also sheds some light on the potential of microflora inhabiting this rather underexplored part of the world.