Morphological and molecular Identification and Biochemical study of chlorophyll a and b total carotenoids and antioxidant activity of green algae species Desmodesmus armatus and Acutodesmus obliquus

Algae as the first circle of food chain are of particular importance. The isolation and identification of algae due to antioxidant compounds such as carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamins and essential fatty acids, used extensively in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic. In this research the samples were collected from Bandar Turkman in Caspian Lake and cultivated on F2 and BBM medium in suitable condition. Morphology and molecular (18s rDNA) techniques used to identify the isolated species. Methanolic extract was used to measure chlorophyll a, b, total carotenoids and antioxidant activity spectrophotometry. The isolated species were identified as Acutodesmus obliquus and Desmodesmus armatus based on the gene sequence and morphological characters. According to DPPH and FRAP methods, the antioxidant activity of Acutodesmus obliquus was more thanDesmodesmus armatus. According to the results obtained here these two species has relatively high antioxidant activity which need further complementary experiments to prove safety and nontoxicity to use in food and medical industries.