Phytochemical and pharmacological investigations of methanol extract of Bombax ceiba root

Abstract

Bombax ceiba a medicinal herb belonging to the Family- Bombacaceae also known as Red silk cotton tree (local name: Shimul) used as a folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases like nocturnal emission, diarrhea, muscular injury, acne, cold, wounds etc in this sub continent. Different types of phytoconstituents such as sugar, steroid, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins & saponins along with their structure & their applications have been reported from the leaf, bark, root, fruit, flower & seeds. These compounds have significant biological activities like anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial & antioxidant. The study was designed for phytochemical investigations of methanolic extract of roots of Bombax ceiba & screening of their biological activities like, antimicrobial & antioxidant activities. The powdered roots of Bombax ceiba was extracted with methanol. Phytochemical screening result showed the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids. terpenoids, tannins & saponins. Some are present in a sufficient amount while others are in low amount. The antimicrobial screening test was estimated by disc diffusion method. In antimicrobial activity investigation, methanolic crude extract of Bombax ceiba (roots) showed mild to moderate activity against the test bacteria. Two different concentrations: 300μg/disc & 600μg/disc of methanol extract of Bombax ceiba root was used in antibacterial test. Which is compared to kanamycin (30μg/disc) used as positive control in this study. The range of zone of inhibition was observed in between 7-13 mm depending on the concentration of the extract. Another study was conducted to evalute the total antioxidant capacity of methanol extract of Bombax ceiba (roots) using aluminum chloride colorimetric method. The total flavonoid contents was 13.816±1.06 mg/g, as flavonoids have antioxidant property the present result suggests that the tested root extracts have antioxidant activity.