Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of Aerva lanata (Gorakh ganja)

Abstract

Aerva lanata is a perennial shrub which belongs to the family Amaranthaceae and is found throughout tropical India as a weed in the fields and wasteland area. This plant is a good source of phytochemicals like terpenoids, flavonoides, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, gums, tannins, terpenes, carbohydrates and amino acids. Other chemical constituents of Aerva lanata include ferulic acid, syringic acid, narcissin and feruloyl tyramine etc which are responsible for their antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-asthmatic and anthelmintic activities. The result of phytochemical study shows that the alcoholic extract of Aerva lanata contains alkaloids, saponins, tannin, polyphenolic compound, amino acid, proteins, flavonoids, steroids, cardio glycosides, terpenoids and carbohydrate and it can be mentioned that the alcoholic extract of Aerva lanata contains higher number of phytochemicals as compared to all other extract of Aerva lanata studied in the present investigation. The MIC of the different extracts of Aerva lanata was found in the range of 25 µl to 45 µl. The different extracts of Aerva lanata shows antimicrobial activity against tested microorganism with inhibition zone ranging from 22 mm to 24 mm. The ethanol extract of Aerva lanata shows maximum zone of inhibition and is comparable or better than standard drug against all tested microorganisms.