In-vitro anti-bacterial activity, nutritional, physico-chemical and organoleptic evaluation: Sargassum sps- Tropical Brown Seaweeds

Abstract Seaweeds and their metabolites finds application as a medicine, nutraceutical and as a food supplement due its antimicrobial properties and protection from environmental stressors. With this background, the study was conducted to explore the anti-microbial activity of Indian brown seaweed- Sargassum sps viz. S.polycystum, S. tenerrimum and S.cinctum collected from the ocean of Gulf of Mannar (Mandapam coast). S. tenerrimum was observed to have higher anti-microbial activity which was evident from the higher zone of inhibition at a concentration 200 µg/disc against Staphylococcus aureus (12.5mm), Bacillus cereus (11 mm), E coli (14 mm) and Pseudomonas aeroginosa (12 mm). S. tenerrimum recorded highest swelling (10.08c ± 0.88), water retention (8.99 ± 1.25) and oil retention capacity (1.01 ± 0.12), besides having high protein (13.42 ± 0.33), low fat (1.30 ± 0.30) and high dietary fibre (64.97 ± 4.71) and ash (30.76 ± 0.38) compared to the other two species. Organoleptic assessment also revealed S.tenerrimum as the choice among the three species of Sargassum. The results reveal the potential scope of utilization of S. tenerrimum as anti-microbial and nutritive enrichment in functional meat products.