Phytochemical screening and in vitro bioactivities of the extracts of aerial part of Boerhavia diffusa Linn.

Objective:To investigate the bioactivities of crude n-hexane,ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of aerial part of Boerhavia diffusa Linn.(B.diffusa) and its phytochemical analysis.Methods: the identification of phyloconstituents and assay of antioxidant,thrombolytic,cytotoxic, antimicrobial activities were conducted using specific standard in vitro procedures.Results:The results showed that the plant extracts were a rich source of phytoconstituents.Methanol extract showed higher antioxidant,thrombolytic activity and less cytotoxic activity than those of n-hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of A diffusa.Among the bioactivities,antioxidant activity was the most notable compared to the positive control and thus could be a potential rich source of natural antioxidant.In case of antimicrobial screening,crude extracts of the plant showed remarkable antibacterial activity against tested microorganisms.All the extracts showed significant inhibitory activity against Candida albicuns,at a concentration of 1000 μg/disc.Conclusions:The present findings suggest that,the plant widely available in Bangladesh,could be a prominent source of medicinally important natural compounds.