Anti-microbial and Phytochemical Studies of Mussaenda frondosa Linn. Leaves

Mussaenda frondosa L (Rubiaceae) has been traditionally used in the treatment of White leprosy, eye troubles, skin infections, tuberculosis, jaundice, ulcers, wounds, cough and Bronchitis. The current study investigated antimicrobial effects of Mussaenda frondosa L against bacteria and fungus. In addition, Phytochemical profiling of the methanol extract of Mussaenda frondosa was done using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). The antimicrobial activity of Methanol (MEMF), Ethyl acetate (EEMF), Chloroform (CEMF) and Hexane (HEMF) extracts of Mussaenda frondosa leaves were tested against nine bacterial and four fungal strains. The Methanol extract showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activity than hexane, Chloroform, Ethyl acetate extracts which could be attributed to the presence of phenols, flavonoids and the other bioactive compounds identified through phytochemical screening. The findings in the present study offer a scientific support to the ethno medicinal use of the plant by the traditional healers.