SCREENING OF PHYTOCHEMICALS IN CRUDE LEAF EXTRACTS OF FOUR MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NORTH BENGAL

R. Jyoti* and Bikramjit Raychaudhury

ABSTRACT

Plants are source of large amount of drugs comprising to different groups such as antispasmodics, anticancer, antimicrobials etc. A large number of the plants possess the antibiotic properties in the traditional system and are mostly used by the tribal people worldwide. Plants have been known to relieve various disease in ayurveda. The biologically active compounds present in plants are known as phytochemicals. These phytochemicals are secondary metabolites derived from various parts of the plants such as leaves, roots, bark, flowers, seeds and pulps. The aim of present study was to investigate the presence of phytochemical groups in leaf extracts of four plants such as Rauvolfia serpentina, Diplazium esculantum, Nictanthus arbortristis and Moringa olifera. These phytochemicals used in the pharmacognostic drug development and treatment of various diseases. Our findings provided evidence that crude aqueous and organic solvent extracts of these tested leaf extracts contain medicinally important bioactive compounds and it justifies their use in the traditional medicines for the treatment of different diseases.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, leaf extract, Phytochemical analysis.