STUDY OF ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIALS OF ALKALIPHILIC CYANOBACTERIA ISOLATED FROM LONAR LAKE, INDIA

Seven different Cyanobacterial species belonging to 4 genera were isolated from the alkaline Lake Lonar, situated in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra. The phycocyanin producing ability of all the isolates was screened. All the isolated alkaliphilic cyanobacteria showed more than 10 mgL^-1 of phycocyanin.  From the seven cultures tested, Synechocystis aquatilis showed the highest production of phycocyanin followed by Phormidium laminosum and Oscillatoria amphibian, respectively.  2, 2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was performed for screening the highest percentage of radical scavenged was shown by Spirulina platensis (40.28), followed by Synechocystis aquatilis (36.32), Phormidium laminosum (34.80) respectively. All the three Cyanobacterial cultures were put under salt stress of 100 to 1000mM. An increase in the % radical scavenging activity was seen when all the three alkaliphilic cyanobacteria were under salt stress. 22% increase in the radical scavenging activity was seen in Spirulina platensis, while 16% increase was observed in the other two cultures. Thus, the antioxidant potential of the alkaliphilic Cyanobacteria isolated from Lonar Lake was revealed.