59Journal of Basic and Applied Biology, 3(1 & 2), 2009, pp. 59-61.© 2009, by the Centre for Biological Research, Puthalam, 629 602, TN, India

Research ArticleISSN 0973 - 8207

PRELIMINARPRELIMINARPRELIMINARPRELIMINARPRELIMINARY PHYY PHYY PHYY PHYY PHYTOCHEMICTOCHEMICTOCHEMICTOCHEMICTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICRAL AND ANTIMICRAL AND ANTIMICRAL AND ANTIMICRAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL AOBIAL AOBIAL AOBIAL AOBIAL ACTIVITCTIVITCTIVITCTIVITCTIVITYYYYYANALANALANALANALANALYYYYYSIS OF SIS OF SIS OF SIS OF SIS OF BEGONIA MALABARICBEGONIA MALABARICBEGONIA MALABARICBEGONIA MALABARICBEGONIA MALABARICA A A A A LAMLAMLAMLAMLAM

S.N. Suresh and N. Nagarajan

PG and Research Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore-29.*Email – drsnsuresh@in.com

Abstract. In the present study, the methanolic extract of the stem of Begonia malabarica wassubjected to preliminary phytochemical studies and antimicrobial studies of certain humanpathogenic microorganisms. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of Flavanoids,Carbohydrates, Proteins, Steroids, Resins, Tannins and Thiols. The antimicrobial activity analysisshows that activity against bacterial strains is comparatively less than that of the fungal strains.Keywords - Begonia malabarica, Phytochemical

Introduction

Plants are potent biochemists and havebeen components of phytomedicine since timesimmemorial; man is able to obtain from thema wondrous assortment of industrial chemicals.Plant based natural constituents can be derivedfrom any part of the plant like bark, leaves,flowers, roots, fruits, seeds, etc (Gordon andDavid, 2001). The medicinal actions of plantsare unique to particular plant species or groupsare consistent with this concept as thecombination of secondary products in aparticular plant is taxonomically distinct(Wink, 1999). The systematic screening ofplant species with the purpose of discoveringnew bioactive compounds is a routine activityin many laboratories. In particular, the searchfor components with antimicrobial activity hasgained increasing importance in recent times,due to growing world wide concern about thealarming increase in the rate of infection byantibiotic-resistant microorganisms (Davies,1994).

According to world health organization(WHO), more than 80% of the world’spopulation relies on traditional medicines fortheir primary health care needs. The medicinal

value of plants lies in some chemical substancesthat produce a definite physiologic action onthe human body. The most important of thesebioactive compounds of plants are alkaloids,flavonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds.The phytochemical research based on ethno-pharmacological information is generallyconsidered an effective approach in thediscovery of new anti-infective agents fromhigher plants (Duraipandiyan, et al, 2006).

The study plant Begonia Lam. ofBegoniaceae has about 900 species found intropical and subtropical regions of the worldwherein 45 species are present in India(Santapau and Henry, 1993). The herb, Begoniamalabarica Lam., known as Ratha soori in Tamilis found in the hilly regions of Southern Indiaand Sri Lanka (Clarke, 1879). The medicinalherb Begonia malabarica is used by Malasar andMalai Malasar tribal community of Pollachi tocure arthritis and common joint pains (Suresh,2008).

Materials and Methods

1. Plant material and extraction

The leaves of B. malabarica werecollected in January 2006 from Anamalai Hills,

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Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Theshadow-dried and coarse stem powder (100 g)was successively extracted with methanol usinga Soxhlet apparatus. The extracts so collectedwere distilled on a water bath at atmosphericpressure and the last traces of solvent. Theextract was used in Antimicrobial andPhytochemical studies.

2. Phytochemical studies

The extracts were tested bypreliminary phytochemical screening(Harborne, 1976).

3. Antimicrobial studies

Fresh leaf material (30 g) was weighed,chopped and divided into three portions. Eachportion was crushed by grinding in a mortarand transferred to a suitable glass bottle and50 ml of distilled water was added. First bottlewas autoclaved at 80 °C for 20 min, the secondwas heated at 100 °C for 20 min and the thirdwas mechanically shaken (200 rpm) in coldtemperature for 2 h. The extracts were filteredusing cheesecloth and 0.45 µ filter paper andtransferred to sterile closed containers. Thecrude extract was considered as 100% extract.By adding sterile distilled water, 50% of theextract was prepared (Sen and Nandi, 1951).Ethanol extract at different concentrations (100,75, 50, and 25 mg/ml) were prepared in thesame solvents of extraction and tested withsolvent controls for antimicrobial activities.

Results and Discussion

The preliminary phytochemical studiesrevealed the presence of Flavanoids,Carbohydrates, Proteins, Steroids, Resins,Tannins and Thiols (Table 1). The extracts didnot answer for Alkaloids, Saponins, Phenols andGlycosides. Regarding the antimicrobialactivity, the activity is more against fungalstrains than the bacterial strains (Table 2). Theactivity against certain bacterial strains washigh comparing to that of fungal strains. Themaximum activity was observed against Vibriocholerae (17), the maximum among the fungalstrains was observed against Aspergillus niger.In certain concentrations the activity wasmaximum, but no activity was seen in the less

concentrations of same strains. In contrast tothe early reports (Catalano et al 1998 andMoore, 1959) the activity of the extract againstfungal strains were high, especially inAspergillus fumigatus followed by Aspergillusparasiticus. The polarity of the solvent seems toplay an important role in exhibiting potentialantibacterial activity. In the present study theactivity was observed against both themicrobial strains. The results suggest thattraditional folk medicine could be used as aguide in our continuing search for new naturalproducts with potential medicinal properties.

Table 1. Preliminary phytochemical study onwater and ethanolic extract of Begoniamalabarica Lam.

+ indicates the presence and – indicates theabsence of the chemical constituents.

Bibliography

Catalano, S., Cioni, P.L., Panizzi, L., Morelli, I.1998. Antimicrobial activity of extracts ofMutisia acuminata var. acuminata. Journalof Ethnopharmacology, 59: 207–209.

Clarke, C.B. 1879. Begoniaceae. In: Hooker, J.D.(Ed.), Flora of British India, vol. 2. L. Reeve& Co, London, pp. 635–656.

Davies, J. 1994. Inactivation of antibiotics andthe dissemination of resistance genes.Science, 264: 375-382.

Duraipandiyan, V., Ayyanar, M., Ignacimuthu,S. 2006. Antimicrobial Activity of SomeEthnomedical Plants Used by PaliyarTribe from Tamil Nadu, India. BMCcomplementary and alternative medicine.pp 635.

S.No Test Ethanol extract1. Alkaloids -2. Flavanoids +3. Saponins -4. Carbohydrates +5. Proteins +6. Phenols -7. Steroids +8. Glycosides -9. Resins +10. Tannins +11. Thiols +

Suresh and Nagarajan, 2009

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Table 2. The antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract of Begonia malabarica Lam.

Gordon, M.C., David, J.N. 200. Natural productdrug discovery in the next millennium.Pharm Biol., 39: 8-17.

Harborne, J.B. 1976. Phytochemical Methods.Chapman & Hall, New York, pp. 1–288.

Moore, W.C. 1959. British Parasitic Fungi.Cambridge University Press, London, p.17.

Santapau, H., Henry, A.N, 1993. A Dictionaryf the Flowering Plants in India. Councilof Scientific Industrial Research, NewDelhi, pp. 1–198.

Sen, S., Nandi, P. 1951. Antibiotics from thePteridophytes. Science and Culture, 16: 328–329.

Suresh, S.N. 2008. The mycorrhizal studies inthe plant species of Anamalai Hills,Western Ghats, Tamilnadu and the effectof Glomus aggregatum inoculation onBegonia malabarica Lam. Ph.D Thesis.

Wink, M. 1999. Introduction Biochemistry, roleand biotechnology of secondary products. In:M Wink, Ed, Biochemistry of SecondaryProduct Metabolism. CRC Press, BocaRaton, FL, pp. 1-16.

* Author for correspondence

Suresh and Nagarajan, 2009

100 mg/ml

75 mg/ml

50 mg/ml

25 mg/ml

1 Escherichia coli 15 12 - - - 162 Klebsiella pneumoniae - 14 11 9 - 133 Vibrio cholerae 17 13 9 - - 154 Proteus vulgaris - 12 8 - - 135 Micrococcus luteus 14 - 9 7 - 12

Fungi1 Aspergillus niger 10 - 9 7 - 202 Aspergillus fumigatus 14 8 - 7 - 143 Trichoderma viridi - - 9 - - 164 Aspergillus parasiticus 12 8 7 - - 155 Aspergillus flavus 10 7 - 7 - 14

Standard ciproflaxin

Bacteria

S.no Name of the organismZone of inhibition (mm) DMSO

control