Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL DIVERSITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF GUAZUMA ULMIFOLIA LAM. (STERCULIACEAE)

Subbalakshmi Ch. and Dr. Meerabai G.*

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants have been used for centuries as remedies for human diseases because they contain therapeutic value. As per World Health Organization (WHO) about 80% of world population use medicinal plants to treat human diseases . Natural products, either as pure compounds or as standardized plant extracts furnish infinite opportunities for new drug pilots due to the unparalleled availability of chemical diversity. India is a varietal emporium of medicinal plants and is one of the richest countries in world with regard to genetic resources of medicinal plants However out of 16,000 medicinal plants only 10% have so far been exploited for development of new biological sources for drugs. Thus we explored different chemical constituents present in hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. of the family Sterculiaceae by using standard tests for various chemicals like steroids, triterpenes, saponins, alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides and polyphenols.

Keywords: Human diseases, Medicinal plants, Biological drugs, Chemical diversity, Alkaloids.