Evaluation of phytochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Memecylon</i> L. species from Western Ghats

363-370The genus Memecylon L. is a least explored group of plants and the present study reports the preliminary phytochemical and pharmacological evaluation of 32 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Memecylon species collected from the Western Ghats. Among these 4 are rare and endangered and 16 endemic. The methanolic extracts of the leaves were evaluated for their phenolic and flavonoid contents, in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Phenolic contents of the methanol extracts of leaves were comparatively low in the species, ranging from 89.86 mg/g (M. gracile Bedd.) to 05.04 mg/g (M. depressum Benth.). Flavonoid compounds were highest in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">M. grande Retz. (39.56 mg/g) and lowest in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> M. talboltianum Brandis (07.60 mg/g)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">. The in vitro free radical scavenging assay was done using DPPH method and the results showed moderate activities to the leaf extracts. The highest antioxidant activity was observed for M. heyneanum Benth. (IC50=15.30 µg/mL). Antibacterial activity against three Gram- positive and six Gram- negative bacteria was tested by disc diffusion method and the leaf extracts showed remarkable broad spectrum antibacterial activity, especially for M. deccanense Clarke<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">, M. terminale Dalzell, M. heyneanum Benth., M. clarkeanum Cogn. and M. sessile Benth