Antimicrobial Activity of Sea Anemone (Actinia equina) Isolated from Lattakia Coast of Syria

Objective: No study has been focused on the antibacterial activity of sea anemone in Syria; thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal activity of Actinia equina from Syrian coast.

Methods: Sea anemone Actinia equina samples were collected from the coast of Latakia and their (methanol, ethanol, and acetone) extracts were applied on human pathogenic bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus vulgaris, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Staphylococcus aureus, and fungus strains such as Candida albicans, using agar disc diffusion method and agar well diffusion method.

Results: Acetone and ethanol extract of A. equina showed activity against all of pathogens tested. The agar well diffusion method showed better efficacy than the disc diffusion method for different extracts. C. albicans was the most sensitive to all extracts. P. vulgaris is the most resistant of all the studied bacteria.

Conclusions: The present study revealed that sea anemone A. equina may also contain some biologically active agents which have potential activity against pathogenic microorganisms.