Antibacterial and photocatalytic potential of bioactive compounds extracted from freshwater microalgae species (Spirogyra and Ocillatoria): A comparative analysis

Water pollution by pathogenic bacteria and organic dyes poses potential health hazards for human and aquatic life. This study aims to explore the potential of bioactive compounds extracted from two microalgae species (Spirogyra and Ocillatoria) for water pollution control. The optimization of the extraction process for bioactive compounds resulted in the highest yield at 25 min for Spirogyra and 30 min for Ocillatotia species. Further, the extracted bioactive compounds were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The bioactive compounds exhibited significant antibacterial ac-tivity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Notably, Spirogyra species exhibited a higher zone of inhibition (19.5-20.7 mm) than Ocillatoria species (17.0-18.0 mm) against both gram-positive and gram -negative bacterial strains. Furthermore, the photocatalytic potential of these bioactive compounds was exam-ined by assessing the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) dyes under different light sources. The findings revealed that Spirogyra species exhibited better photocatalytic activity than Ocillatoria species for MB and CV. For MB, 89.75 %, 77.82 % and 63.54 % were photodegraded when exposed to UV light, sunlight and visible light using Spirogyra extract, compared to 84.90 %, 74.70 % and 58.30 % by Ocillatoria extract. Regarding CV, Spirogyra extract achieved photodegradation efficiency of 88.94 %, 76.59 % and 64.50 % under UV light, sunlight and visible light, higher than 83.60 %, 73.60 % and 57.70 % by Ocillatoria extract. Both Spirogyra and Ocillatoria species demonstrated the best performance for dye photodegradation under UV irradiation, demonstrating great potential for nature-based water treatment.