PHYTOCHEMICAL PHARMACOGNOSTICAL ANTIMICROBIAL AND CYTOTOXICITY STUDIES ON CANTHIUM COROMANDELICUM FRUIT

The medicinal plants are the key source in the life of human beings. The present study was aimed to evaluate the preliminary phytochemistry, pharmacognostical and antimicrobial activity of Canthium coromandelicum fruit. The fruit showed the presence of secondary metabolites like flavonoids, steroids, tannins, phenol, sterols, cardiac glycoside and saponin glycoside in various extracts. The pharmacognostical analysis of C. coromandelicum was useful in the identification of authentic samples and recognizing adulterants. The various extracts of C. coromandelicum fruit has shown antimicrobial activity against eight bacterial strains including Gram negative, Gram-positive bacteria, and three fungal strains using agar well diffusion method. The methanolic extract showed the broad spectrum antimicrobial activity compared to petroleum ether and chloroform extracts. Chloroform extract showed high cytotoxicity value with low IC₅₀ values. The antimicrobial studies proved that Canthium coromandelicum fruit has antimicrobial activity against the selected pathogens. The Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay is an excellent predictive tool for the toxic potential of plant extracts in humans.