PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL, ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF Clerodendrum species

Abstract

Clerodendrum is widely distributed plant in India and its medicinal use has been mentioned in traditional Indian systems. In the present study six species of Clerodendrum (C. inerme, C. peniculatum, C. philippinum, C. phlomidis, C. serratum and C. villosum) were screened for the presence of phytochemicals and were found positive for Glycosides, Terpeniods, Anthraquinones, Flavonoids, Saponins, Tannins, Lignin, Phenol and Alkaloids. All the species showed Antioxidant potential for all the Antioxidant Assays tested (DPPH Assay, Reducing Power Assay and Total Antioxidant Activity). For DPPH assay maximum antioxidant activity was seen for C. inerme, and C. serratum showed maximum activity in Reducing Power Assay and Total Antioxidant Activity. The plant species were also analyzed to check for their Antibacterial Activity. Among the solvents (Chloroform, Ethanol, Methanol, Iso-amyl Alcohol and Propanol) used for extrac- tion, the Iso-amyl Alcohol extract was found to be most active compared to other solvent extracts. B. subtilis and S. aureus were most sensitive among the tested pathogens. Proteus sp exhibited sensitivity towards most of the plant sp and for almost all solvent extracts. These findings can be used as prerequisite for Clerodendrum plant screening for bioactive compound for medicinal purposes. Genomic DNA was extracted from the fresh leaves of selected cultivars and PCR was performed by using RAPD primers to check the genetic di- versity among these species. From the PCR generated fingerprint, dendrogram was plotted by cluster analysis of similarity matrix. Den- drogram constructed by cluster analysis of RAPD markers showed that C. inerme and C. serratum are closely related. As very little work has been done on molecular characterization of Clerodendrum sp. by RAPD technique, our finding can be used as prerequisite for plant breeding activities as well as for conservation of genetic resources.