P. KRISHNENDU, R. SHANMUGAPRIYA, S. PRIYA AND D.R. DARJILY
Abstract
The major objective of our study was to assess the antifungal activity of Mimusops elengi leaf extract so that it would form an excellent source of replacement for commercially available synthetic fungicides. Mimusops elengi was known to contain phytochemicals includes, tannins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and reducing sugar. Fungi were isolated by agar plate method and identified as Fusarium sp. Mucor sp. and Aspergillus niger. Methanolic extract of Mimusops elengi showed a higher percentage of mycelial inhibition (74.36%). The plant extract showed 37.85% of scavenging activity. GC-MS analysis of Methanolic leaf extract revealed the presence of 49 compounds. Among the identified compounds 9- octadecenoic acid, Hexadecanoic acid, Pregen-4-ene, decylpropargyl ester and olean-12-ene-3 were found to contain significant antibacterial, antifungal, antihelminthic and anticancerous activity. Solanesol has antitumour activity and phenolic compounds are responsible for antioxidant activity. Therefore, presence of various phytochemicals and bioactive compounds in Mimusops elengi implies the usage of the plant extract as an effective antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumour, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anesthetic agent. The result suggests that the plant extract could be used as a suitable therapeutic agent for treating the clinical pathogens. The study would further provoke the researchers to screen large number of plant leaves to check its therapeutic potential.