ABSTRACT

The plant Adenodolichos paniculatus which is used in ethno – medicine for the treatment of blennorrhoea, diarrhea, dysentery, small pox, heart burn and wound dressing was investigated for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity. The leaves of this plant were subjected to microwave assisted extraction to obtain n – hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. The extracts were then subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening which revealed the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, reducing sugars, saponins, tannins and steroids/terpenes. Purification through various column chromatography, the ethyl acetate extract led to the isolation of compounds X1 (mixture of stigmasterol and β – sitosterol) and X2 (nonanoic acid) after spectral analysis IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Determination of inhibitory activity (sensitivity test) using agar well diffusion method showed activity i.e. minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Candida albicans ranging from 12 – 50 mg/ml, Minimum Bactericidal Concentration/ Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MBC/MFC) ranging from 25 – 50 mg/ml, which is found to be bacteriostatic against Salmonella typhi. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtili showed no MBC (Bacteriostatic) for the methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform and n –hexane extract.