Phytochemical and Pharmacognostic Value of Enicostemma littorale

Enicostemma axillare (Lam.) Raynal, syn. E.littorale Blume family Gentinaceae, is a perennial herb found throughout the greater part of India. Locally it is known as chota chirayita and used in indigenous medicines in the treatment of fevers and as bitter tonic and forms hypoglycemic marketed formulations. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine the phytochemical studies and antioxidant activities by various methods. It was observed that the methanol, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether crude extracts of E.littorale possess a significant anti-microbial activity against a bunch of microorganisms responsible for causing many life threaterning diseases like AIDS etc., Hence our results suggest that Enicostemma littorale may be a potential plant for developing better therapeutic drugs for treating various infectious diseases.