One of the poisonous plants of Western Ghats is Holigarna arnottiana Hook f. may cause contact dermatitis and skin irritations. The phytotoxic chemicals present in this plant can be isolated and used for various commercial products. A phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, tannins, and phenolic compounds, flavonoids, steroids, resins, fatty acids, gums which are capable of producing definite physiological action on body. These compounds may be responsible for the antibacterial activities of the leaf and bark extracts.The antioxidant activity also showed promising results. Of the four solvents used methanolic extract showed very promising antibacterial activity against the test strains.
Holigarna arnottiana, leaf, bark extract, antibacterial, phytochemical studies
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