Secondary metabolites in marine algae are becoming the focus of biological researchers due to its varied therapeutic values. Preliminary comparative screening studies have been performed between Gracilaria. crassa and Asparagopsis taxiformis, which belongs to Rhodophyta group of marine algae, for the presence of bioactive components by extracting them with suitable solvents and studying their antimicrobial activities using disc diffusion method. Gracilaria crassa was found to have better antimicrobial potency compared to Asparagopsis taxiformis. An attempt has also been made to separate the unknown antimicrobial compounds using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and purify the extracts using column chromatography since not much work has been carried out in these species.
