Antimicrobial Activity of the Various Extracts of Spirulina platensis and GC-MS Analysis

The concept of biological control for health maintenance has received widespread attention during the last few years. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to look for active substances that could be used as antibacterial agents. In the attempt of extracting and producing newly active antimicrobial substances substituting the existing overgrowing antibiotic microbial resistance, Spirulina platensis cyanobacterium was extracted with five different volatile organic solvents, acetone, methanol, petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol. Their antimicrobial effect was studied on gram positive such as Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus xylosis obtained, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, MRSA ATCC 12498, and gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Escherichia coli ATCC 25966, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Enterococcus feacalis ATCC 29212, Klebsiella pnumoniae ATCC 700603, Salmonella sp. (clinical isolate) and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Fusarium sp. (clinical isolate) using the agar well diffusion technique. Larger inhibition zone was observed with methanol S. platensis extract mainly on MRSA. The GC-MS analysis of S. platensis methanolic extract revealed the major active fatty acids constituents such a tetradecanoic acid and octadececanoic acid assumed to provide the antimicrobial activity.