Phytochemicals are secondary metabolites produced by all plants, some of which are of great medicinal value. Primary screening of phytochemicals is a crucial step in the detection of the bioactive compounds present in medicinal plants, and consequently may lead to drug discovery and development. Qualitative analysis was done to investigate the active phytoconstituents present in Costus igneus. In the present study, leaf, stem and rhizome extracts were prepared with different solvents, viz. ethanol, methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and chloroform. A total number of 19 phytochemicals, viz. alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, anthraquinones, reducing sugars, glycosides, phlobatannins, organic acids, proteins, amino acids, steroids, carbohydrates, oils & resins, phenols, carboxylic acid and quinones were tested for their presence or absence in the different parts of the plant. Ethanol and methanol proved to be better solvents than others, as the crude extracts showed the presence of more number of phytochemicals like, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, taninns, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, saponins, carbohydrates and proteins etc. Other solvents showed the presence of fewer phytochemicals. Leaves and rhizome were found to contain more phytochemicals when compared to stem. These phytochemicals will be of great value in the herbal drug industry.
