Abstract

EVALUATION OF PHYTO-COMPONENTS USING FTIR SPECTROSCOPY AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF BIOACTIVE CONSTITUENTS FROM AERIAL PARTS OF CLINACANTHUS NUTANS (BURN. F.) LINDAU

MG Chithra, GS Deepamol, AS Hemanthakumar, P Padmesh and TS Preetha*

ABSTRACT

Clinacanthus nutans (Burn. f.) Lindau (Family Acanthaceae) is a famous tropical herb and have been used widely in Southeast Asia especially in Sabah, Malaysia as an anti- inflammatory drug for the treatment of wound, disinfection and cancer. This medicinal plant is usually propagated by cutting propagation which has low reproductive capacity. The development of rapid propagation methods for C. nutans is needed to satisfy human demand for its medicinal products. This study analyzed Phytochemical screening of chemical constituents of the two accessions (Cn1 and Cn2) using IR spectroscopy which showed the presence of carbohydrates, phenols, amide, alkanes, alkenes, etc. in the whole plant part. Antibacterial activity of different solvent extracts of C. nutans showed remarkable activity against the bacterial strains E. coli, Bacillus sp., Salmonella sp. and Streptococcus sp. comparable to standards with zone of inhibition from 6-15.66 mm. The inhibition zone was comparatively more with petroleum ether and acetone extract. The study necessitates a thorough screening and characterization with modern tools which can be extended for the preparation of effective herbal drugs that may pave a lead in the drug discovery in coming years.

Keywords: Clinacanthus nutans, aerial part, antibacterial activity, FTIR spectroscopy.