Acrylic Acid, an "Antibiotic" Principle in Phaeocystis Blooms in Antarctic Waters

Abstract

An acidic algal substance has been isolated and characterized as the sodium salt. Synthetic sodium acrylate possesses chemical and antibacterial properties identical with those of the natural product. This observation identifies the algal substance in the stomach contents of euphausids, the diet of pygoscelid penguins, which inhibits the penguin gastrointestinal microflora.