Phytopharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract of Sida cordifolia L.roots

Objective:To investigate the phytochemical screening(group determination)and selected pharmacological activities(antioxidant,antimicrobial and analgesic activity)of the plant Sida cordifolia Linn(S.cordifolia).Methods:Eighty percent concentrated ethanol extract of the roots was used.To identify the chemical constituents of plant extract standard procedures were followed.In phytochemical screening the crude extract was tested for the presence of different chemical groups like reducing sugar,tannins,saponins,steroids,flavonoids,gums,alkaloids and glycosides.The antioxidant property of ethanolic extract of S.cordifolia was assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging activity.Analgesic activity of the extract was tested using the model of acetic acid induced writhing in mice.Diclofenac sodium is used as reference standard drug for the analgesic activity test Antibacterial activity of plant extract was carried out using disc diffusion method with five pathogenic bacteria comparison with kanamycin as a standard.Results:Phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of the roots of S.cordifolia indicated the presence of reducing sugar,alkaloids,steroids and saponins.In DPPH scavenging assay the IC_(50)value was found to be 50 ug/mL which was not comparable to the standard ascorbic acid.The crude extract produced 44.3%inhibition of writhing at the dose of 300 mg/kg body weight which is statistically significant(P>0.001).The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the roots of S.cordifolia showed no antimicrobial activity against five types of microorganisms.The experiment was conducted only with five species of bacteria as test species,which do not at all indicate the total inactivity against micro-organisms.Condusions:The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine but further pharmacological studies are required.

Evaluation of Antibacterial and Antidiarrhoeal Activities of <i>Feronia limonia</i>Leaf Extract

The present study was carried out to investigate possible antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal activities of ethanol extract of Feronia limonia leaves. Phytochemical analysis of the crude extract was performed to detect presence of different kinds of phytoconstituents. The antibacterial activity was investigated against four Gram positive and four Gram negative bacteria by using disc diffusion method. The plant extract showed moderate antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacteria namely Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Staphylococcus pyogenes and all tested Gram negative bacteria namely Escherichia coli, Shigella boydii, Shigella dysentery and Shigella flexneri in dose dependant manner. The results of castor oil-induced diarrhoeal study showed that Feronia limonia extract significantly reduced the severity & frequency of diarrhoea in mice at a higher dose of 500 mg/kg compared with the standard drug loperamide (25 mg/kg). The present study clearly supports the medicinal value of this plant. The overall results indicate the possibility of presence of some active principles in the plant extract possessing antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal actions.