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Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of non-polar and polar extracts of Glochidion velutinum Wight have been studied. The phenolic content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and colorimetric method was used to quantify flavonoids. Antioxidant activity was also measured by DPPH free radical scavenging assay and disk diffusion method was applied to test antimicrobial activity. Of the hexane, chloroform, ethanol and methanol extracts of Glochidion velutinum, higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found in methanol and ethanol extracts. Moreover, ethanol and methanol extracts also showed better antimicrobial and antioxidant activities than the other two extracts. The presence of various phytochemicals e.g. alkaloids, tannins, phenols etc in these extracts also substantiated the observed antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.Key words: Glochidion velutinum, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Phytochemicals, Phenolic content, FlavonoidPlants have been the best source of remedies for curing a variety of diseases and have played key roles worldwide for maintenance of health. Natural products of higher plants are important sources of therapeutic agents. Therefore, many research groups are currently screening various plants for different biological activities (Mothana et al. 2010, Mulabagal et al. 2007, Leu et al. 2006. The cleaned leaves were dried in shade for 7 days followed by drying in an oven at 40C for 2 hours. The leaves were then ground to a coarse powder with the help of a mechanical grinder. Glochidion velutinumThe dried powder (400gm) was taken in four porous bags and placed in the chamber of four soxhlet extractors. The powder was first defatted with n-hexane for 28 hours. The defatted powder was then extracted with chloroform, ethanol and methanol successively as before, each for 28 hours. The extracts thus obtained were separately collected and denoted as hexane extract (HGV), chloroform extract (CGV), methanol extract (MGV) and ethanol extract (EGV).Preliminary phytochemical screenings of G. velutinum extracts were carried out using standard procedures as described by Trease and Evans (1978). All the extracts HGV, CGV, MGV and EGV revealed the presence of flavonoids, carbohydrate and alkaloids. The presence of tannins, steroids and saponins were observed only in CGV, MGV and EGV.The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH free radical assay by standard protocol (Braca et al. 2001). The scavenging of DPPH free radical is indicated by the deep violet color being turned pale yellow or colorless. Various concentrations (1.56 to 800 µg/mL) of crude extracts were used to assess free radical inhibitory ability and ascorbic acid (1.56 to 50 µg/mL) was taken as standard. The absorbance of crude extracts/ standard was measured at 517 nm with UV-Visible spectrophotometer COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NON POLAR AND POLAR SOLVENT EXTRACTS 249(Shimadzu) and free radical inhibitory activity was determined using the following equation:where, C = Absorbance of control, T = Absorbance of crude extracts/standar...

Jawaharenel' an antitumor antibiotic complex was obtained from the mycelia of a strain of Aspergillus niger. Its antitumor2-7), antiviral1,8) and antimicrobial9,10' properties were studied in detail. In the present study, jawaharene has been fractionated by silica gel column chromatography and an antitumor active fraction designated JF1 has been obtained. This fraction shows a single spot in thin-layer chromatorgram (TLC) using different solvent systems. JF1 has been found by others to inhibit Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and sarcoma-180 (S-180) ascites tumor in Swiss mice. It also inhibits the oxygen uptake and glucose uptake by EAC and S-180 cells, in vitro. The results will be published in a separate communication.The methyl esters of JF1 were made with diazomethane11) and the ester-mixture was purified by silica gel column chromatography and preparative TLC. All the eluates were concentrated and dried in: vacuo.The indication that JF1 is a mixture of long chain fatty acids was obtained from its various spectral data. The IR spectrum suggested the presence of carboxylic acid groups, long methylene chains and olefinic double bonds. The same conclusions could be drawn from the NMR spectrum of the methyl esters of JF1. The mass spectrum of the methyl ester preparation indicated it to be a mixture of methyl esters of straight chain aliphatic acids.The molecular ion peaks corresponding to the constituent fatty acid methyl esters were observed at m/z 214, 242, 268, 270, 296 and 298. Finally the methyl esters of the fatty acids constituting JF1 were quantitatively determined by GLC in Pye Unicam, GCDchromatograph, using a 15 % DEGS column on Gaschrom Z (80100 mesh). Methyl esters of fatty acids were identified by comparison with authentic samples. The peaks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 corresponding to lauric, myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic and oleic acid were observed ( Fig. 1) with their relative abundance of 0.2. 0.86, 43.26, 2.0, 11.6 and 42.5 %, respectively.Thus JF, the antitumor active fraction of jawaharene, has been found to consist of six different long chain fatty acids of which palmitic (43.26 %) and oleic (42.5 %) are the major consti-

Objective: This study evaluated the analgesic, antioxidant, and cytotoxic effects of ethanolic extract of Streblus asper roots. Methods: Analgesic activities were carried out using paw licking and writhing tests. The extract was used at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg per orally in Swiss albino mice of body weight 25–30 g. Antioxidant properties were investigated using 1, 1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free-radical scavenging assay, total phenol content, total flavonoid content as well as reducing power capacity. The cytotoxic activity was determined by the Brine Shrimp lethality bioassay. Results: The ethanolic extract of S. asper roots showed a significant effect in the formalin test (p<0.01). They also exhibit the highest analgesia (p<0.01) in the acetic acid-induced writhing model as well. The extract possessed antioxidant effects in all the models. It possessed a good cytotoxic activity. Conclusion: The results suggested that S. asper root extract has a suitable analgesic, antioxidant effect as well as significant cytotoxic potential.