An insight into cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects of Cystoseira humilis crude extract

Sea algae are a part of human diet and they are widely used in traditional medicine. We have investigated dichloromethane-methanol (/) Cystoseira humilis (Schousboe ex Kützing) crude extract from Atlantic coastline of Morocco for cytotoxic and antimicrobial activity. Extract cytotoxic action was investigated on HeLa and K cell lines using MTT test. HeLa cells were treated with two different concentrations and observed under fluorescence microscope in order to determine type of cell death. A quantitative investigation was conducted on the antimicrobial effect of the extract against various microorganisms: bacteria (Gram positive: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram negative: Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and micromycetes (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Penicillium purpurescens and Penicillium verrucosum). Crude extract from Cystoseira humilis species exhibited pronounced cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities for natural product.