BIOCHEMICAL STUDY OF AN ENDANGERED ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANT CURCULIGO ORCHIOIDES GAERTN. OCCURRING IN PURULIA DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Ethnic peoples from Purulia district of West Bengal in India use a lot of plants for their primary health care without studying phytochemical analysis and biological activities in detail. Main objectives of the present study are to evaluate the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the whole plant extract of Curculigo orchioides using polar and nonpolar solvents. Total phenol content (TPC) was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu assay using Gallic acid (GA) as standard and total flavonoid content (TFC) by AlCl₃ method using quercetin as standard. The antibacterial screening was carried out by agar well diffusion method. Methanol extracts exhibit higher phenol (82.93 ± 2.74 mg of GA E/gm of the sample), flavonoid (48.41 ± 1.94 mg of QE/gm of the sample) and alkaloid (5.56 ± 1.56%) content in comparison to other solvents. Similarly, methanol extracts show higher free radicals scavenging property and there was a positive correlation between IC₅₀ values with total phenol and flavonoid content. A positive correlation exists in total phenol and flavonoid with antioxidant activities. The plant contains high phenolic and flavonoid content and exhibits antibacterial and antioxidant activities support the ethnomedicinal value of the plant.