Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND DETERMINATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACT OF PLECOSPERMUM SPINOSUM

Madhumita Suresh, S. Yamini Sudha Lakshmi*, Iswarya Srinivasan, Gayatri Rajagopal, C. Sivaraj and P. Arumugam

ABSTRACT

The usage of medicinal plants to treat various ailments and diseases has been of great value to the pharmaceutical industry owing to their potential of causing minimal side effects when compared with chemical drugs. Various plants such as Aloe-vera, Asafetida and Alfa- Alfa are used for treatment of skin aliments, to reduce breathing problems and lower cholesterol levels respectively. The present study was carried out to highlight the phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of one such herbal plant- Plecospermum spinosum. The phytochemical screening for Plecospermum spinosum was carried out using methanol extract. Thin layer chromatography was first performed to identify the solvent mixture that will extract maximum number of compounds from the plant leaf. The methanolic extract of Plecospermum spinosum was also tested for anti-bacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Shigella Flexheri, Streptococcus mutants, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Keywords: Plecospermum spinosum, methanolic extract, Phytochemical analysis and Anti-bacterial activity.