COMPARATIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF CALOTROPIS SP. OF ETHNOMEDICINAL SIGNIFICANCE

The global prevalence of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms is a major public health concern worldwide. The emergence of antibiotic resistance and related toxicity issues are limiting the use of antibiotics and prompting research for alternative therapy. Plant-derived drugs are gaining popularity due to their efficacy and safety. Calotropis procera and Calotropis gigantea are two common species in the genus Calotropis, well known for their ethnomedicinal values. Present study comparatively evaluated the phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of C. procera and C. gigantea. The qualitative phytochemical screening of the ethanolic, methanolic, and aqueous extracts of Calotropis sp. indicated similar phyto-constituents of both the species. Secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, coumarin, steroid, phenol, tannin, saponin, and volatile oils were detected in both the plant extracts and ethanolic extracts contained the highest number of the plant metabolites. The plant extracts showed antimicrobial activity against Gram +ve and –ve human pathogenic bacteria, indicating their broad-spectrum activity. Comparatively, C. procera was more effective against the tested bacterial pathogens with lower MIC and MBC value than C. gigantea. The study suggested that aerial plant parts extracts of Calotropis sp. would provide therapeutic phytochemicals as anti-microbial agents and can serve as a viable alternative source of bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical relevance.