Assessment of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of <i>Dendrocnide sinuata </i>(Blume) Chew leaves–A medicinal plant used by ethnic communities of North East India
17-21
Traditional
medicine plays an important role in the primary health care in India. Dendrocnide
sinuata (Blume) Chew has been used as medicine for curing diseases by
different tribal communities of North East India. An
ethno-medicinal study was done among few tribal communities of this region
through questionnaires in consultations with the tribal practitioners and has
resulted in the documentation of various uses of the plant for curing diverse
form of ailments. Further, in vitro study was carried out to investigate
its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties from the leaf extract of the plant.
The methanol and aqueous extracts of leaves were tested for their antimicrobial
activity against three Gram-positive bacteria, three Gram-negative
bacteria, one yeast species using Agar diffusion method and for their antioxidant
activity using scavenging activity of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrozyl) radical
method. Antimicrobial activity was observed against Gram-negative
bacteria only. The highest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by the
75 and 100% methanolic extracts but no extract showed any antifungal
activity against Candida albicans used in the study. The methanolic
leaf extracts of 75 µg/ml and 100µg/ml concentrations also
exhibited high free radical scavenging activity. The
phytochemical screening demonstrated the presence of different types
of compounds like terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids and
others, which could be responsible for the antimicrobial and
antioxidant activities.
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