Morpho-anatomical characteristics, phytochemical and antibacterial potential of Sargassum polycystum collected along the southern coast of Java, Indonesia

MARIA DYAH NUR MEINITA (Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. Jl. Dr. Soeparno, Komplek GOR Soesilo Soedarman, Karangwangkal, North Purwokerto, Banyumas 53122, Central Java, Indonesia)
RISKI YULIA (Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. Jl. Dr. Soeparno, Komplek GOR Soesilo Soedarman, Karangwangkal, North Purwokerto, Banyumas 53122, Central Java, Indonesia)
MUHAMMAD NURSID (Research Center for Marine and Inland Waters Bioindustry, National Research and Innovation Agency. Malaka, Pemenang, North Lombok 83352, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia)
NUNUK ARIES NURULITA (Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto. Jl. KH. Ahmad Dahlan, Banyumas 53182, Central Java, Indonesia)
DICKY HARWANTO (Faculty of Fishery and Marine Science, Universitas Diponegoro. Jl. Prof. H. Soedarto, S.H., Tembalang, Semarang, 50275, Central Java, Indonesia)
RIVIANI RIVIANI (Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. Jl. Dr. Soeparno, Komplek GOR Soesilo Soedarman, Karangwangkal, North Purwokerto, Banyumas 53122, Central Java, Indonesia)
RIYANTI RIYANTI (Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. Jl. Dr. Soeparno, Komplek GOR Soesilo Soedarman, Karangwangkal, North Purwokerto, Banyumas 53122, Central Java, Indonesia)

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 25 No. 8 (2024)

Abstract. Meinita MDN, Yulia R, Nursid M, Nurulita NA, Harwanto D, Riviani, Riyanti. 2024. Morpho-anatomical characteristics, phytochemical and antibacterial potential of Sargassum polycystum collected along the south coast of Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25: 2669-2681. The southern coast of Java is one of the coastal areas in Indonesia with a high abundance of seaweed. Sargassum polycystum, a brown marine macroalga that is abundant in southern coast of Java, contains high secondary metabolites and exhibits promising potential as an antibacterial agent. There is lack of comprehensive study on morpho-anatomical characteristic and bioactivity of S. polycystum. Hence, this study investigated the morpho-anatomical characteristics, phytochemical compound content, and antibacterial activity of S. polycystum collected from three different beaches along the southern coast of Java Island against pathogenic bacteria Bacillus megaterium, Micrococcus luteus, and Escherichia coli. Specimen collection was done using purposive random sampling along southern coast of Java Island, followed by descriptive exploratory of morpho-anatomical characteristic, extraction, phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity assay. Maceration with methanol solvent during 48 hours was used for extraction. The phytochemical analysis employed a qualitative descriptive method, while the antibacterial activity was assessed using the disc diffusion method (Kirby-Bauer). The morpho-anatomical characteristics observed of S. polycystum include the characteristic of a rough-textured stipe, round tapered serrated blade, small disc-shaped holdfast, alternate pinnate branching, cell wall, vacuole and cytoplasm. The morphology and anatomy of S. polycystum particularly the thallus and blade structure are strongly impacted by the environmental condition of southern coast of Java. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and steroids in S. polycystum extract. Antibacterial assay demonstrated a medium to strong antibacterial activity against B. megaterium with bacteriostatic properties, strong to very strong antibacterial activity against M. luteus, and weak antibacterial activity against E. coli. Future research is required to examine how environmental conditions affect the composition and concentration of phytochemical compounds in S. polycystum.