CHARACTERIZATION AND SCREENING OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN THE EXTRACT PREPARED FROM AERIAL ROOTS OF FICUS BENGHALENSIS

Ficus benghalensis is has been used in traditional medicinal practices such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy. All parts of the tree such as fruits, aerial roots, bark and leaves are known to be traditionally associated with diarrhea, dysentery, menorrhagia, nervous disorders and tonic properties. However, in Ayurveda it is mainly known for the diabetes treatment.There are no reports giving a detailed profiling of phytochemicals present in the aerial roots of F. benghalensis. The study aims to evaluate its bioactive compounds and comprehend its biological activities with traditional knowledge.Methanol and ethanol extracts from the aerial roots healthy tree of F. benghalensis were prepared and their antibacterial activity against various pathogenic gram’s positive and gram’s negative bacteria were evaluated using disc diffusion assay. DPPH & FRAP bioassays were performed to establish its traditional use as antioxidants. Total phenol and total flavonoids were estimated to correlate its antioxidant potential. The chemical composition of methanol extract was accomplished by GC-MS and bioactivity of these compounds was determined. Lupenyl acetate (35.4 %), α-Amyrenyl acetate (16.34%), γ-Sitosterol (5.45%), Palmitic acid (5.17%) and Lupeol (4.44%) were found to dominate the phytochemical composition. These compounds are known to exhibit various important pharmacological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-cancerous etc. Various phytochemicals in aerial root can be screened to evaluate its potential role in treatment of various diseases