Multiple antimicrobial activities of the marine alga Spyridia filamentosa (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta)

Abstract

Forty eight HPLC peaks from three distinct TLC zones obtained from crude lipid extracts of the tropical marine red alga Spyridia filamentosa were assayed against five pathogenic microorganisms. Of these, nineteen showed detectable activities (seven HPLC peaks from TLC zone 5; five peaks from TLC zone 9; seven peaks from TLC zone 12). Activities by single HPLC peaks were generally against one or two assay microorganisms. The total number of biologically active compounds in a given alga is shown to be substantially greater than can be ascertained by assaying whole-algal extracts.