Bioactive compounds from Pseudanabaena species (Cyanobacteria)

Bioactive products of the multicellular filamentous benthic cyanobacterium, Pseudanabaena species, isolated from wastewater stabilization ponds at Marrakech, were tested against some pathogenic micro-organisms. Extracellular and intracellular products released by this blue-green alga in the stationary growth phase, reduced the survival of Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, and stimulated the growth of non-O1 V cholerae, whereas no significant effect was noted on the growth of Candida tropicalis. Intracellular substances (methanolic extract) had a stronger inhibitory effect on these micro-organisms than that produced by extracellular substances. These antibacterial and antifungal substances may have a pharmacological value. They may have an important ecological effect on the composition of the bacterial community in Marrakech stabilization ponds when blooms of Pseudanabaena species occurred in this sewage treatment ecosystem during hot periods.