Abstract
Marine algae are known to contain a wide variety of bioactive compounds. They are also rich in novel biomolecules and can be explored for the development of drugs to combat lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes etc. Red algae are known for their nutraceutical and functional importance. But there are a lot of limitations regarding their availability and in estimating which algal fractions are biologically active. Similarly, the mode of digestion of such compounds in human body is not yet properly traced. In this juncture, the present study was aimed to evaluate the phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract of the red alga, Gracilaria dura. Methanolic extract of G. dura showed the presence of reducing sugar, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins and terpenoids. Further, the HPLC analysis was attempted to fractionate the polyphenolics. Various phenolic acids such as of gallic acid, vanillic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, hydroxybenzoic, phloroglucinol, catechol and cinnamic acid were identified. Subsequently, the methanolic solvent extract of G. dura was subjected to fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for the analysis of the functional groups. The results based on the spectral data of FTIR revealed the presence of aliphatic constituents containing alkanes, ketones, alkyl halides, hydroxyl groups etc. Thus, the observed finding envisages that methanolic extract of G. dura contained potential bioactive compounds which can be used for analysing the various biological activities.
 Keywords: Gracilaria dura, Phytochemical, Methanolic extract, HPLC, FTIR
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