In vitro Screening of Seaweed Extracts against Silkworm White Muscardine Pathogen (Beauveria bassiana Bals.) Vuill.

Seaweeds or marine macrophytic algae are an assemblage of the members of Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae and are the common inhabitants of the tidal and intertidal environments of the marine ecosystem. Chloroform solvent based seaweed extracts obtained from brown, red and green algal groups. All the seaweed extracts of three different concentrations (1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm) were screened against silk worm white muscardine pathogen, Beauveria bassiana. Among the eight species extracts screened against B. bassiana, the brown algae, Turbinaria conoides of 2000 ppm concentration showed the maximum zone of inhibition against B. bassiana (24.7 mm). The seaweed species of Sargassum wightii (brown algae) and Ulva lactuca (green algae) were also showed maximum antifungal activity (23.8 mm and 23.2 mm), compared to green algae, Chaetomorpha litorea (11.5 mm) which recorded in minimum. Further, a detailed study on the principle compound in the seaweeds which is responsible for antimicrobial activity.