Phytochemical investigation and antimicrobial activity of Inchnocarpus frustescens rhizome

Many infectious diseases in ancient times have been treated using herbal drugs. Today efforts are made for the discovery of the herbal components from plants possessing antimicrobial properties. Herbal drugs are widely used for treatment of various diseases, and they play an important role in health care considerations. Rhizome of Inchnocarpus frustescens were extracted, phytochemically investigated and were subjected to antibacterial as well as antifungal screening by Disk Diffusion Method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was also performed by two-fold tube dilution method. Three compounds were isolated and identified as n-nonadecanyl benzoate (1), benzocosanyl arachidate (2), and Quercetin (3). The result of phytochemical investigation showed that compound (3) is new isolated the first time from rhizomes; and compounds (1)and (2) are isolated from genus Ichnocarpus frutescens form other morphological parts earlier. Further antimicrobial tests indicated that the ethanolic extract inhibited the growth of all microorganisms and most extracts showed promising degree of antimicrobial activity. The results were compared with standard antimicrobial agents (Erythromycin and Fluconazole), Thus providing evidence for the potential use of these crude extract in the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections.