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Abstract

Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn.(Family: Lecythidaceae), is a medium-sized tree found throughout India. It has been used in folk medicine to treat tuberculosis, skin disease, inflammation, hemorrhoids and diarrhea. The present study deals with in-vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and GC-MS study on the bark extract of B. acutangula. In order to investigate the antioxidant activity, reducing power activity was used. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method. Identification of extract bioactive compounds by GC-MS revealed that alpha-Pinene oxide, 1,2-benzoldicarbonsaeure di-(hex-1en-5-yl-ester), 3-methyl-4-heptanone, (Z)-3-hexadecene are the major components. The antioxidant activity of the bark extract increased with increasing concentration; the values are comparable with the standard antioxidant ascorbic acid. From the results of antibacterial activity, B. acutangula bark extract could inhibit gram-negative and gram-positive pathogenic bacteria. Thus, B. acutangula could be considered as an excellent broad-spectrum antibacterial agent. INTRODUCTION:Herbal plants play a key role in the treatment of complex diseases in humans due to their complex mixture of secondary metabolites 1 . Barringtonia acutangula Linn. is a medium size glabrous tree found throughout India in deciduous and evergreen forests, mostly along the bank of rivers and streams 2 . B. acutangula is one of the useful traditional medicinal plant in India. It is used in various Ayurvedic formulations for the treatment of various diseases 3 . B. acutangula is used in managing diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases and in various polyherbal formulations 4, 5 .