Total Phenol Content, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Capability of Traditional Medicinal Plants of Mizoram, Eastern Himalayas, Northeast India

Mizoram inhabits a wide variety of medicinal plants which are traditionally used by the local tribes for the treatment of a range of ailments. The present study was initiated to screen the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Albizzia chinensis, Callicarpa arborea, Mussaenda macrophylla and Stereospermum tetragonum. Among the selected plants, A. chinensis possessed highest total Phenolic content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) (9.235 units/mg protein), catalyse (93.212 μM H2O2 Decomposed/min/ mg protein), ascorbic acid oxidase (1.66 units/mg protein) and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC-96) and Escherichia coli (MTCC 739). Methanol extract of S. tetragonum showed highest antioxidant activity (41.53 mg GAE/g DW). A positive correlation was seen between total Phenolic content and total antioxidant activity of all four plants with having correlation coefficient (R2) ranges from 0.969-0.995. Further studies on isolation and structural elucidation of biologically active compounds present in the plants will be helpful for pharmaceutical and industrial applications.