Antimicrobial Activity of Methanolic Gonad Extracts of Persian Gulf Sea Urchin on Gram-Positive Bacteria

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESThe increasing spread of microbial resistance to current antibiotics has made the treatment of once easily treated small infections difficult. Marine animals and plants, along with their biological compounds, present a vast and accessible source for finding antimicrobial agents. In recent years, there has been an increase in studying the antimicrobial effects of marine organisms, such as echinoderms. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the potential antimicrobial activity of the gonad extracts of sea urchin (Echinometra mathaei) found in the valuable biological reserves of the Persian Gulf.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study involved collecting E. mathaei from the Bushehr City coast of the Persian Gulf. The aqueous and Methanolic extracts were prepared from their gonads, and their antimicrobial effect was evaluated using the disc diffusion method and MIC and MBC assays against several clinical bacteria and their standard strains.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe methanolic extract of the gonad of E. mathaei showed significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria. This extract demonstrated growth halos between ۷-۱۱.۵ mm in Staphylococcous aureus ATCC۶۵۳۸, S. aureus clinical (WI), Clostridium perfringens clinical (G۷S۱), Bacillus cereus ATCC۱۱۷۷۸, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC۱۹۱۱۵, Streptococcous sanguinis ATCC۱۰۵۵۶, S. agalactiae PTCC۱۷۶۸. However, the examined extracts concentration prevented determining the MIC and MBC numbers.CONCLUSIONThe study concludes that E. mathaei gonad extracts can be a potential source of antimicrobial compounds for gram-positive pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria

کلیدواژه ها:

Persian Gulf Sea Urchin ، Echinometra mathaei ، Antimicrobial Activity ، Gram-Positive bacteria