Biological activities of derived pigments and polyphenols from newly recorded alga; Phyllymenia gibbesii

Abstract

Abstract The newly recorded Phyllymenia gibesii in the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria coast of Egypt is regarded a significant source of bioactive substances and applied as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agents. According to the HPLC chromatograms, the acetone extract of P. gibesii comprised ten photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-d, α-carotene, β-carotene, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, antheraxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and violaxanthin). Total carotenoids were the dominant class in the pigments' profile, achieving a concentration of 257 g/g. The P. gibbesii extract had a total content of phenols as; 146.67 mg/g and a total content of flavonoid as; 104.40 mg/g. The capacity of all the investigated biological activities augmented with the concentration of the algal extract. The maximal DPPH scavenging capacity was 81.44%, with an inhibitory concentration value (IC50); 9.88 μg/mL. Additionally, the highest ABTS scavenging capacity was 89.62%, recording an IC50 value of 21.77 μg/mL. The hemolytic activity of P. gibbesii attained a maximum capacity of 49.88%, exhibiting an IC50 value of 100.25 μg/mL. Data also showed the maximum anti-inflammatory effectiveness as; 81.25%, with an IC50 value of 99.75 μg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibited antimicrobial capacity against all reference strains, particularly at high concentration (0.1 mg/mL). The extract had the greatest effect on C. albicans and E. coli.