Phytochemical Screening and Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Argyreia Cuneata Leaf Extract

Abstract

Argyreia cuneata (Willd.) Ker Gawl. belonging to family Convolvulaceae. Despite its traditional uses, systematic phytochemical and antibacterial validation is limited. So, this study of Phytochemical screening revealed presence of alkaloids, steroids, tannins, terpenoids, glycosides, flavonoids, proteins and carbohydrates in ethanol and methanol extracts. Chloroform extract showed positive for alkaloids, steroids, glycosides and flavonoids, but negative for tannins. Benedict\'s and Molisch\'s tests were negative in ethanol and methanol extracts while positive in chloroform. All extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activity. The highest inhibition was observed with chloroform extract against.

Introduction

Medicinal plants are important sources of bioactive compounds used in the development and production of various drugs, including antibiotics, antimalarial medicines, and other therapeutic agents. The plant Argyreia cuneata (Willd.) Ker Gawl., belonging to the family Convolvulaceae, is found in the Western Ghats of India and has traditionally been used to treat diabetes, wounds, skin cuts, and other health conditions. Previous studies have reported its potential analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, wound-healing, antipyretic, and antidiabetic properties.

The present study aims to identify the phytochemical constituents of Argyreia cuneata leaf extracts and evaluate their antibacterial activity, particularly in view of increasing antibiotic resistance.

Materials and Methods

Leaves of Argyreia cuneata were collected from the Mysuru region, authenticated, shade-dried, and powdered. Approximately 20 g of leaf powder was extracted separately using 100 ml each of ethanol, methanol, and chloroform through maceration for 72 hours. The extracts were filtered and concentrated.

Phytochemical screening was conducted to identify compounds such as alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, and proteins. Antibacterial activity was tested against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Lactobacillus species (Gram-positive) using the agar well diffusion method. Extract concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/ml were tested, with streptomycin as the positive control and distilled water as the negative control. The bacterial cultures were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours, after which inhibition zones were measured.

Results

Phytochemical screening indicated the presence of several bioactive constituents in the leaf extracts, including alkaloids, steroids, tannins, terpenoids, glycosides, proteins, and carbohydrates. The results varied depending on the solvent used. Ethanol and methanol extracts showed positive results for several compounds, while the chloroform extract displayed a different phytochemical profile.

The antibacterial assay was designed to determine whether the extracts could inhibit the growth of the selected bacterial strains. However, the provided text does not include the measured inhibition-zone results, so the antibacterial effectiveness of each extract cannot be determined from the information presented.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates that ethanol, methanol and chloroform leaf extracts of Argyreia cuneata possess important phytochemicals and significant antibacterial activity against E. coli and Lactobacillus sp. Although standard antibiotic showed higher zone, plant extracts justify traditional use for respiratory, urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections. Further studies are needed to isolate pure compounds, determine MIC/MBC, antioxidant activity, and elucidate mechanism of action.

References

[1] Rasool Hassan, B. A. (2012). Medicinal plants (importance and uses). Pharmaceut Anal Acta, 3(10),2153-435. [2] Kekuda, T. P., & Vinayaka, K. S. (2018). Ethnobotanical uses and pharmacological activities of Argyreia cuneate (Wild.) Ker Gawl. (Convolvulaceae). Int J Green Pharm. 12(4),366-369. [3] Harborne, J. B. (1998). Phytochemical Methods: A Guide to Modern Techniques of Plant Analysis (3rd ed.). Springer, London, UK. [4] Sharaf, M. H., El-Sayed, A. S. A., El-Sayed, S. R., & Mohamed, A. A. (2022). Antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic activities of secondary metabolites produced by endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plants. Archives of Microbiology, 204, 585.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 M. Yashaswini , M. K. Mahesh. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.