Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of ethanol extract of Calotropis procera root

Abstract

Calotropis procera a member of family Asclepiadaceae is a soft wooded, evergreen perennial xerophytic erect shrub, growing widely throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. The roots of Calotropis procera is used traditionally to treat various diseases and disorders like inflammation, rheumatism, diarrhoea, elephantiasis, dysentery. Extraction of Calotropis roots was done by soxhlet apparatus using ethanol solvent. Phy- tochemical screening reveals the presence of primary metabolites such as amino acids as well as secondary me- tabolites alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, phenolic compounds. Quantitative study reveals that ethanol extract is the richest source of alkaloid. Ethanol extract has potent antibacterial activity against the pathogenic bacteria Staphy- lococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aureginosa ( largest zone 17mm), Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Bacillus sub- tilis. whereas it doesn’t show antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Thus present paper focuses on scientific evaluation of ethnobotanical data of the plant Calotropis procera.