The methanol, dichloromethane, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate extracts and volatile components of Spirulina
platensis were tested in vitro for their antimicrobial activity (four Gram-positive, six Gram-negative bacteria
and Candida albicans ATCC 10239). GC-MS analysis of the volatile components of S. platensis resulted in
the identification of 15 compounds which constituted 96.45% of the total compounds. The volatile components
of S. platensis consisted of heptadecane (39.70%) and tetradecane (34.61%) as major components. The
methanol extract showed more potent antimicrobial activity than dichloromethane, petroleum ether, ethyl
acetate extracts and volatile components. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.