The Screening of Antidiabetic Activity and The Cultivation Study of Local Marine Microalgae

Abstract Microalgae are rich source of primary and secondary metabolites which have potential bioactive compounds for application in the pharmaceutical industry. The study of antidiabetic activity from microalgae have been carried out because it can be cultivated in a small area and efficient in light capturing. This study aimed to screen the local marine microalgae which potential as the antidiabetic source. Five microalgae strains (Chlorella sp A and B, Nanochlropsis sp, Porphyridium sp, and Skeletonema sp were screened according to their growth rates, antidiabetic activity (α-glucosidase inhibition) and biomass yield. Results showed that Porphyridium sp cells were grown very active compared to other strains. After 8 days of cultivation, the cells’ number of Porphyridium sp was 345x103 cells/ml. The highest activity in α-glucosidase inhibition was detected in Porphyridium sp biomass (12.63%). The biomass yield of Porphyridium sp (6.71 g) was obtained after cultivated at 5 L scale production. The exponential growth rate of Porphyridium sp which cultivated with aeration pump system (Rexp = 0.177, TD = 3.8 days) was higher than cultivated with shaker incubator system (Rexp = 0.045, TD = 15.4 days). We concluded that Porphyridium sp is the best microalgae compared to other microalgae both its productivity and antidiabetic activity. The cultivation of Porphyridium sp by using aeration pump system is much recommended.