Phytochemical and biological investigation of commelina diffusa

Abstract

Present study was performed to find out important phytochemical constituents, and establish the scientific basis of the use of the leaves of Commelina diffusa as therapeutic agent in traditional medicine in Bangladesh. The leaves of the plant were extracted by using methanol and the crude methanolic extract was subjected to phytochemical screening and in vitro biological investigation. The phytochemical screening tests confirmed the presence of phenols, sterols, and glycosides, which made the plant a promising source of new natural drugs. The antimicrobial activity testing, done by agar diffusion method, revealed good activity against different bacteria and fungi, with the maximum potential against Staphylococcus aureus. The study also confirmed mild total phenolic content and DPPH free radical scavenging activity that in turn confirmed mild antioxidant potential of the plant under experiment, and moderate cytotoxicity in brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Nevertheless, further investigation is needed to develop new drugs, especially anti-microbial agents, to treat a wide variety of diseases.