PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES AND QUANTITY ESTIMATES OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN EXTRACTS OF HOLARRHEA FLORIBUNDA

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the antimicrobial activities of extracts of Holarrhea floribunda and to determine the quantity of  bioactive compounds in the extract with the most active antimicrobial activities. Extracts of Holarrhea floribunda were prepared using different solvents such as ethyl acetate, methanol, chloroform and acetone and were screened for their antimicrobial activities. Phytochemical screening and quantity estimation of detected phytochemicals were carried out on the most active extract which is the methanol extract. It revealed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid and saponin in the methanol extract. Quantity estimation also revealed that the alkaloid is 38.2 %, flavonoid is 8.2% and saponin is 11.5 % in the methanol extract of Holarrhea floribunda. The result obtained revealed that the higher quantity of bioactive compounds in the methanol extract may be responsible for the high antimicrobial activities of this extract. The antimicrobial activities of the methanol extract could be responsible for the traditional uses of Holarrhena floribunda in the treatment of boils, eczema, diabetes mellitus and as stimulant, carminative, diuretic and antipyretic. Keywords: Antimicrobial activities , Holarrhea floribunda, quantity estimation, bioactive compounds