Objective: The genus Schefflera belongs to the family Araliaceae. The secondary metabolites of Schefflera include triterpene glycosides, oleanolic acid, and benzyl glycosides with proven biological activities. The objective of this study was to determine the antibacterial potentials of lianoid and arboreal Schefflera spp., from southern India. Methods: Schefflera venulosa, Schefflera stellata, and Schefflera racemosa were collected from the natural forests of Kodagu and Mysore regions of southern Karnataka. The plant parts such as stem bark, leaves, and inflorescence were dried, powdered and known quantity was subjected to Soxhlet extraction based on the solvent polarity. The solvent extracts from each of the species were subjected to preliminary antibacterial screening against five test bacterial strains, namely, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Klebsiella pneumoniae by agar disc diffusion method and the inhibition zones were measured. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC’s) were calculated for the positive extracts and represented. Results: Of the 30 solvent extracts tested, six solvent extracts showed antibacterial activity. The ethanol and ethyl acetate solvent extracts of all three plants showed positive results for antibacterial activity. The zone of inhibition against the bacterial test pathogens ranged from 6.00±0.00 to 15.00±0.00 mm against B. subtilis, E. aerogenes, S. pyogenes, and K. pneumoniae. The highest zones of inhibition were observed for S. racemosa leaf ethanol extract against B. subtilis, E. aerogenes, and S. pyogenes (10.00 mm to 15.00±0.00 mm). The MIC values of the positive extracts were 5.0 mg/ml in the leaf, flower ethanol, and stem bark ethyl acetate extracts of S. venulosa, leaf ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of S. stellata and the leaf ethanol extract from S. racemosa, respectively. Conclusion: Schefflera spp. from southern India possesses antibacterial potentials, which can be exploited pharmaceutically for potential health benefits against bacterial infections.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the phytochemicals present in the flower and leaf extracts of Clerodendrum paniculatum L., collected from Nelji village of Kodagu district . Methods: The healthy leaves and flowers of C. paniculatum were collected and the plant extracts were prepared using ethanol, hexane and distilled water separately. Phytochemical analysis was conducted using standard procedurs for the flower and leaf extracts of C. paniculatum. The antioxidant activity in leaf and flower extracts was determined by three assays, estimation of total phenolic content, reducing power assay and radical scavenging activity (DPPH) using standard procedures. Results: Phytochemical screening conducted for the flower and leaf extracts of C. paniculatum showed the presence of three phytochemicals, namely saponins, alkaloids and terpenoids. Terpenoids were commonly present in all the extracts of flower and leaf that is in both polar (aqueous and ethanol) solvent and in non-polar (hexane) solvents. The extracts tested for the antioxidant activity showed the presence of total phenolics in ethanol, aqueous and hexane extracts. The aqueous extract showed high redox potential followed by ethanol and hexane extracts. The aqueous leaf extract showed high radical scavenging activity when compared to the flower extracts of C. paniculatum. Conclusion:  The present study showes C. paniculatum to be an important medicinal plant, since the flower and leaves showed good antioxidant activity. Thus it may used in the treatment of diseases and may also used in the preparation of natural or herbal drugs due to the presence of antioxidants.