Antioxidant activity of three microalgae Dunaliella salina, Tetraselmis chuii and Isochrysis galbana clone Tahiti

Abstract

Natural alternatives antioxidant source has become a trending topic in the past decades to replace synthetic antioxidant. Microalgae have been mentioned to show interesting bioactive properties and one of them is its antioxidant activity. This study aims to evaluate the potential of three microalgae Dunaliella salina, Tetraselmis chuii and Isochrysis galbanaas new source of natural antioxidant. Proximate analysis and total phenolic content of D. salina, T. chuii and I. galbanas were determined. Antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of these three species prepared in different concentration (50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm) was performed through DPPH assay. I. galbana clone Tahiti demonstrated a highest antioxidant potential with 61.64 of inhibition at 50 ppm followed by D. salina with 58.45 % of inhibition and T. chuii with 52.58 % of inhibition. I. galbana clone Tahiti was the best antioxidant with total phenol content of 17.798 mg GAE g-1 extract at 50 ppm; followed by T. chuii 16.868 mg GAE g-1 extract and the lowest was D. salina with 4.672 mg GAE g-1 extract. Results suggest that these microalgae posses antioxidant potential which could be considered for future applications in medicine, dietary supplements, cosmetics or food industries.