A REVIEW ON PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS

S. L. Kakad*, H. R. Aher and S. P. Rasale

ABSTRACT

The use of biological active compounds in different commercial sectors such as pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries signifies the need of the most appropriate method to extract these active components from plant materials. Universal medicine also known as folk medicine comprises medical knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of new modern medicine. Traditional medicines are prepared from plant or combination of more plants. Indian contribution to herbal market and emphasis on novel research is continuously increasing. Phytochemical constituents are responsible for medicinal activity of plant species. Hence in the present study primary phytochemical screening of some important medicinal plants was carried out, qualitative & quantitative phytochemical analysis of these plants confirms the presence of various biological active compounds. The review indicate that the phytochemical properties for curing various diseases and possess implicit antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and leads to the isolation and purification of new and novel biological active compounds. This review is purpose to discuss different extraction techniques along with their basic mechanism for extracting secondary metabolite compounds from medicinal plants.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, phytochemical screening, secondary metabolites.