Antimicrobial activity of ethanol fraction from cyanobacteria Chroococcus turgidus

Abstract

Chroococcus turgidus belongs to cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic prokaryote, which produces many valuable bioactive compounds and shows interesting biological activities. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of the ethanol fraction from C. turgidus and identified compounds that responsible for the activity. C. turgidus biomass was extracted using the reflux method and then fractionated by column chromatography. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Candida albicans using agar disc diffusion method. The result showed significant activity against all tested microbes. The largest zone of inhibition was 18.1 ±0.14 mm, achieved by the fraction against S. aureus. Characterization using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry revealed the volatile organic compounds with 1, 2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl)ester as the dominant compound. This study revealed that the bioactive compounds produced by C. turgidus could be a potential source of natural antimicrobials.