Abstract

The phytochemical studies and biochemical screening of various fractions, that is, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and aqueous (F₁ to F₅) obtained from the medicinal plant Mallotus phillipensis were studied. The presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, quinines, saponins, tannins and terpenoids were confirmed by performing chemical tests using standard protocols. The infrared (IR) spectroscopic analysis revealed the presence of oxygenated and carbo-nitro functionalities, mainly in the polar fractions of the plant. All the fractions were tested for their antimicrobial activities against nine of the human pathogens including Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhi, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans using standard procedures. Among all, ethyl acetate (F₃) and butanol (F₄) fraction exhibited strong antibacterial and antifungal activities. F₃ revealed to be the most promising by showing 80% inhibition zone in case of P. vulgaris (80%), S. typhi (80%), while almost 70% against B. subtilis (68%) and S. pneumonia (67%). In fungicidal assay, F₃ showed 75 and 73% inhibition against A. flavus and A. niger, respectively.

Key words: Mallotus phillipensis, phytochemical screening, infrared (IR) spectral analysis, antimicrobial activities.