Antibacterial, Antidiabetic, and Toxicity Effects of Two Brown Algae: Sargassum buxifolium and Padina gymnospora

Abstract

Seaweed has a variety or biological activities, including antibacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory ones. Mexico has great macroalgae diversity, with nearly 1700 species; therefore, in this research two seaweeds from Mexico, Sargassum buxifolium and Padina gymnospora, were investigated for their antibacterial, antidiabetic, and toxic potential; and to understand their phytochemical components both were subjected to various extractions. Only the hexanic fraction was active, and the presence of fatty acids was detected. The two algal extracts showed interesting antimicrobial properties, which mostly inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria (E. faecalis, S. aureus, and S. epidermidis). The α-glucosidase activity was estimated for checking the antidiabetic capacity; S. buxifolium had best α-glucosidase inhibition compared with P. gymnospora. For toxicity, the hexanic extracts administered orally as nontoxic in the treated mice. These results suggest that the two algae have potential as resources for the development of antimicrobial agents.