PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, PLANT GROWTH INHIBITION, AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY STUDIES OF XYLOCARPUS GRANATUM

Abstract

Phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract of Xylocarpus granatum Koen indicated the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, tannins and flavonoid types of compounds. Alkaloids and glycosides were found to be absent from the extract. The primary methanolic extract exhibited a potent growth inhibitory effect. Inhibition of both the rootlet and shoot showed a dosedependent response. The residual methanolic extract also has a growth inhibitory effect. Bothmethanolic extracts have a greater inhibitory effect on rootlet growth than shoot growth. The residual methanolic extract has a lesser inhibitory effect than the primary methanolic extract.Removal of the non-polar compounds (by n-hexane and chloroform) from the primary methanolic extract reduced the inhibitory activity on both the rootlet and shoot growth, which suggests that the non-polar fractions may contain growth inhibitory principles. The primary extract demonstrated antibacterial activity against the gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and the gram negative bacteria Proteus vulgaris. The primary methanolic extract was found to be inactive against Escherichia coli andPseudomonas aeruginosa. The primary methanolic extract was more active against grampositive bacteria than gram-negative bacteria. The residual methanolic extract was also found to be inactive against all the tested microorganisms