Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Bryopsis pennata and Chaetomorpha antennina against Multidrug Resistant Morganella morganii and Salmonella species Isolated from Healthy Individuals

The problem of antibiotic resistance is fast becoming a pandemic which has necessitated the need for new drugs discovery. This study was carried out to screen two green algal species- Bryopsis pennata andChaetomorpha anteninna for antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant pathogenic enteric organisms (Morganella morganii and Salmonella species) obtained from healthy individuals. Algal samples were obtained and processed. Crude extraction was carried out with dichloromethane/methanol (2:1) while the antibacterial screening was done by agar-well diffusion method. Results revealed that M. morganii was 3.37% of the total isolates recovered while Salmonella species was 6.74%. Result also showed that C. antennina was active against all the strains of Salmonella species with inhibitory zones ranging from 10 mm to 17 mm and the M. morganii with inhibitory zone of 11 mm while B. pennata showed inhibitory activities against only S. pullorum and S. enterica subspecies diarizonae with inhibitory zones of 12 mm and 7 mm respectively as well as the M. morganii strain with 14 mm. The antibacterial activities observed from these green algae showed that Bryopsis pennata and Chaetomorpha antennina from the West African coast are promising in the quest for new drugs with potentials against multidrug resistant strains of bacteria and therefore should be intensely researched into.