Abstract

ANALYSIS OF PHYTOCHEMICALS, ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF RICINUS COMMUNIS

Harjot Pal Kaur*, Nitee Singh and Inderjeet Singh

ABSTRACT

Castor (Ricinus communis) is an oilseed crop that belongs to the spurge (Euphorbiaceae) family. Extracts of R. communis leaves and fruits were evaluated for the presence of phytochemicals, antioxidants and antibacterial compounds. Phytochemicals such as anthraquinones, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and alkaloids were present in all the extracts, whereas reducing sugars, terpenoids, glycosides and carbohydrates were absent in all the extracts of leaves and fruits. The hexane extracts of leaves and fruits exhibited a significant higher free radical scavenging effect (8.6% and 7.9% respectively) than the ethyl acetate (8.0% and 7.4% respectively) and aqueous extracts (7.2% and 7.0% respectively) at concentration of 10μg/ml. With the increase in concentration from 10μg/ml to 100μg/ml the scavenging effect also increased for all the extracts. The total phenolic content was maximum in hexane extract of leaves (57.98mg GAE/100gm dry weight) and minimum in aqueous extract of fruits (21. 56 mg GAE/100gm dry weight). Antibacterial activity of R. communis extracts against Gram positive (B. subtilis and S. aureus) and Gram negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) bacteria by agar well diffusion method shows that hexane extracts of leaves and fruits had maximum inhibitory activity against B. subtilis (ZOI 13.5mm and 12.6mm respectively) ethyl acetate extracts against E. coli (ZOI 12.1mm and 13.6mm respectively). All the extracts of R. communis showed the presence of phytochemicals, antioxidants and antibacterial compounds so can be used as a potential source of useful elements for drug formulation and offer a scientific basis for exploitation and use of solvent extracts of R. communis in traditional medicine.

Keywords: Antioxidants, Ethyl acetate, Glycosides, Hexane, Phytochemicals.