Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities and Phenolic Composition of Vaucheria aversa Isolated from the Tigris River (Diyarbakır, Türkiye)

This study aims to evaluate the pharmaceutical potential of Vaucheria aversa isolated from the Tigris River through the assessment of its antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial activities, and phenolic compound composition. In this study, samples collected from benthic habitats were purified using a mechanical isolation method. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of the prepared extracts were measured by spectrophotometric methods, and their phenolic profiles were determined using LC-MS/MS analysis. Antioxidant activities were assessed using FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS assays, while antimicrobial activities were tested on E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans using the agar well-diffusion method. The total phenolic content of V. aversa was determined to be 64.28 f 2.11 mg GAE/g, while the flavonoid content was 15.21 f 0.89 mg QE/g. Regarding antioxidant activities, the FRAP value was 65.55 f 3.18 mg TE/g, the DPPH IC 50 value was 38.25 f 1.41 & micro;g/ml, and the ABTS IC50 value was 16.39 f 1.02 & micro;g/ml. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that cinnamic acid and gallic acid were present at higher levels compared to other phenolic compounds. In antimicrobial assays, ethanol and methanol extracts exhibited strong inhibition zones against E. coli and C. albicans. The activity of V. aversa against Gram (-) negative bacteria and fungi was found to be particularly noteworthy compared to other Vaucheria species. Its antioxidant and antimicrobial capacities are presumed to be directly associated with its phenolic compound content. The findings of this study indicate that in order to evaluate V. aversa as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent in pharmaceutical research, further compound isolation and in vivo investigations are required to elucidate its effective pharmaceutical potential in detail.