Operculina turpethum Linn. belongs to the family Convolulaceae is a perennial twining climbers with milky juice, used in the traditional system of medicine to cure GIT complaints and in variety of human ailments. Ethanol, ethyl acetate, butanol and aqueous extracts from the roots of the plant were investigated for preliminary phytochemical, antibacterial and antifungal activities. The quantitative estimation of crude extract revealed the presence of secondary metabolites like steroids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins and reducing sugars. At the concentration of 100mg/ml ethanol and their fraction extracts showed appreciable activity against Gram-positive bacteria, while aqueous extract showed more activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Ethylacetate extract inhibited the growth of the fungi Candida albicans and suppressed the growth of Saccharmyces cervisiac. This study has pointed to the potential application of Operculina turpethum Linn. as a bactericide and fungicide due to the presence of various secondary metabolites which are responsible to produce therapeutic activity.
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