In this study we surveyed the marine algae and seaweeds of Ghemenis coast which extends 50 Km. western Benghazi city. Seventeen marine Algae (15 Genera), in addition to Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile Mediterranean tape weed (Spermatophyte) were collected during 2010 from the sandy, small, and open coast. Chlorophyta was the most dominant group with 9 species (8 genera), followed by Rhodophyta with 5 species (4 genera) and Phaeophyta with just 3 species (3 genera). The most dominant algal genera were Rhizoclonium and Polysiphonia (two species of each). Methanolic extract of green alga Caulerpa prolifera was tested against four types of dermatophytes (Tinea) isolated from El-Jamahiriya hospital, Benghazi city. At high concentration of algal extract (100 µm) nails and hair Tinea were obviously affected (25.36 and 21.65 mm, respectively), where foot and skin Tinea were not affected (9 mm) like Diameter of holes. Meanwhile, the lower concentration (50 µm) has no clear effect on these tested four types of Tinea. The pharmaceutical importance of the Libyan marine algae as natural source and comparison with the chemical treatments still needed more investigations.
Key words: Marine algae, Caulerpa prolifera, dermatophytes, Tinea
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