STRUKTUR KOMUNITAS DAN POLA DISTRIBUSI MAKROALGA DI PERAIRAN WANGI-WANGI DESA LIYA MAWI KABUPATEN WAKATOBI

Makroalga salah satu sumber daya hayati laut memiliki nilai ekonomis dan manfaat, baik untuk manusia maupun lingkungan sekitarnya. Lokasi Penelitian di Perairan Desa Liya Mawi Kabupaten Wakatobi. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai struktur komunitas dan pola distribusi makroalga. Pengambilan data dilaksanakan pada bulan Juli-September 2020. Pengambilan data menggunakan metode transek kuadrat. Pengambilan data dilakukan di tiga stasiun dengan 3 kali pengulangan. Analisis data yang digunakan yaitu indeks keanekaragaman, indeks keseragaman, indeks dominansi, kepadatan dan pola distribusi. Makroalga yang ditemukan berjumlah 13 spesies yang terdiri atas Kelas Chlorophyta berjumlah 6 spesies, kelas Phaeophyta 2 spesies dan kelas Rhodophyta 5 spesies. Jenis yang ditemukan yaitu Gracilaria coronopifolia, Laurencia papilosia, Gracilaria edulis, Eucheuma spinosum, Glacilaria salicornia, Ulva fasciata, Halimeda tuna, Halimeda marcoluba, Halimeda opuntia,Dictyosphaeria cavernosa, Chaetomorpha crassa, Padina australis dan Hydroclathrus clathratu. Nilai indeks keanekaragaman jenis makroalga berada dalam kategori sedang, indeks keseragaman dalam kategori tinggi, indeks dominansi makroalga tergolong kategori rendah. Kepadatan makroalga berkisar 3,123-17,643 koloni/m². Pola distribusi makroalga di perairan Desa Liya Mawi tergolong kategori mengelompok dan merata.Kata Kunci: Desa Liya Mawi, Makroalga, Pola Distribusi, Struktur Komunitas

Metabolite Profiling of Malaysian Gracilaria edulis Reveals Eplerenone as Novel Antibacterial Compound for Drug Repurposing Against MDR Bacteria

With a continuous threat of antimicrobial resistance on human health worldwide, efforts for new alternatives are ongoing for the management of bacterial infectious diseases. Natural products of land and sea, being conceived to be having fewer side effects, pose themselves as a welcome relief. In this respect, we have taken a scaffolded approach to unearthing the almost unexplored chemical constituents of Malaysian red seaweed, Gracilaria edulis. Essentially, a preliminary evaluation of the ethyl acetate and acetone solvent extracts, among a series of six such, revealed potential antibacterial activity against six MDR species namely, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus pyogenes, and Bacillus subtilis. Detailed analyses of the inlying chemical constituents, through LC-MS and GC-MS chromatographic separation, revealed a library of metabolic compounds. These were led for further virtual screening against selected key role playing proteins in the virulence of the aforesaid bacteria. To this end, detailed predictive pharmacological analyses added up to reinforce Eplerenone as a natural alternative from the plethora of plausible bioactives. Our work adds the ongoing effort to re-discover and repurpose biochemical compounds to combat the antimicrobial resistance offered by the Gram-positive and the -negative bacterial species.

Mineral Content of Selected Seaweed Varieties in Southern and North Western Sea of Sri Lanka

Seaweeds are a rich source of health beneficial bioactive nutraceuticals and currently, they are under-utilised in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study is to get an idea about the possibility of utilising seaweed in Sri Lankan food industry. In the present study, elemental composition analysis of Ulva fasciata obtained from 3 locations Mirissa (5°56/40.5// N: 80°27/20.2// E), Point Dondra (5°55/45.7//N: 80°35/02.5// E) and Galle (6°02/01.1// N: 80°12/52.2// E) and red algae varieties Gracilaria edulis and Gracilaria sp. obtained from Kalpitiya (8°15/40.8// N: 79°46/33.9// E and 8°13/35.0// N: 79°43/34.8// E) respectively. The elemental analysis was carried using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. The results revealed that the predominant mineral of U. fasciata obtained from the 3 locations and Gracilaria sp. as calcium. While the predominant mineral in G. edulis was potassium. All the 5 varieties have various concentrations of elements such as K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. Significantly high lead content was observed in U. fasciata obtained from Point Dondra. The elemental compositions showed variations among the same species obtained from different locations. The results also revealed that seaweed is a good source of certain essential and trace minerals. Keywords: Ulva fasciata, Gracilaria edulis, Gracilaria sp., minerals, seaweeds