An investigation on antimicrobial and anticancer competence of macro red algae under in-vitro condition

The purpose of this study was to look into the proximate parameters (moisture, ash, total fat, protein, and total carbohydrate), mineral composition (Fe, Cu, Mg, and Zn), antimicrobial as well as cytotoxic (anticancer) properties of extracts from the marine red macro algae Gracilaria corticata, Chondrus ocellatus, and Posphyra perforata against a few prevalent microbial pathogens (Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Clostridium tetani, and Treponema pallidum as well as fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Cryptococcus neoformans) and two cancerous cell lines (HeLa and MCF7). The dry biomass of these red algae biomass contains considerable valuable proximate parameters and minerals. The diffusion technique on agar wells was used to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of these test red algae methanol and hexane extract; MTT assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of the methanol and hexane extracts on each cancer cell line. The methanol extracts demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against most of the tested pathogenic organisms. Mortality of cells was effectively caused by methanol extract and it followed by hexane extract at increased dosage 10 mg mL^-1. The MTT assay revealed that the methanol extract of the red algae was considerably cytotoxic to HeLa and MCF7 cells, accompanied by the hexane extract in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that the methanol extract of these red algae may contain bioactive compounds with antimicrobial and anticancer properties, which could be studied for future use in the discovery of new drugs from marine ecosystems.