Respected Sir,

When you choose a plant for your research, just go ahead with literature survey on the selected plant and then you plan your work on it. First shade dry your plant samples and go for extraction with various solvents. You can perform Pharmaco-chemical characterization,Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, GC-MS, LC-MS, HPTLC analysis, FT-IR analysis, estination of phenols, flavonoids, Compound isolation and characterization, Pharmacological activities like, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti inflammatory, antiulcer, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antifertility, fertility enhancement activity etc., antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity by cyclo voltametric method and anticorrosion studies in your shade dried plant samples.

With regards,

Dr.Tresina

You may prepare extract of plant in organic solvent such as methanol. Lots of papers are available online.

You may prepare the extract using soxlet apparatus. Sample may be refrigerated until subsequent use.

For checking antimicrobial property you may perform well diffusion assay with different concentrations of extract in the well and medium seeded with bacteria of known concentration. For another bacteria maintain the same concentration(O.D.). So that results are comparable and may be reproducible.

To check for presence of flavonoids you may perform HPTLC.

You may also be required to perform toxicity test of the extract since it is for medicinal use.

Most flavonoid aglycones dissolve in methanol. If you are also intersted in extraction flavonoid glycosides, use hydro-alcholic mixtures - say 70 : 30 methanol: water for example. Most alcoholic or hydro-alcoholic solvents also extract 'phenylcarboxylic acids'

The best way to check whether your extracts contain flavonoids is to run your sample by TLC or HPTLC (I tend to prefer the latter). The ideal mobile phase system that tends to separate most flavonoids/flavonoid glycosides is Ethyl acetate: formic acid: glacial acetic acid: water 100 : 11: 11: 26. Use NP-PEG reagent as a dip, dry and view under 366 nm.

I would suggest you to google for Wagner and Bladt's book on 'Plant Drug Analysis- A thin layer chromatography Atlas' which is freely available in the net that gives you comprehensive information on separation of all types of plant chemistries.

Regarding the flavonoid assay - I generally prefer flavonoids assay by HPLC for accuracy of results. However, there are a number of UV-Vis spectroscopic assays published in literature for total flavonoids.

Good luck

Respected Sir,

When you choose a plant for your research, just go ahead with literature survey on the selected plant and then you plan your work on it. First shade dry your plant samples and go for extraction with various solvents. You can perform Pharmaco-chemical characterization,Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, GC-MS, LC-MS, HPTLC analysis, FT-IR analysis, estination of phenols, flavonoids, Compound isolation and characterization, Pharmacological activities like, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti inflammatory, antiulcer, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antifertility, fertility enhancement activity etc., antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity by cyclo voltametric method and anticorrosion studies in your shade dried plant samples.

With regards,

Dr.Tresina

Respected Sir,

I use to follow the following simple method by Eom et al. (2007). (Eom, S.H., Cheng, W.J., Hyoung, J.P. Kim, E.H., Chung, M.I., Kim, M.J., Yu, C.Y. and Cho, D.H. 2007. Far infrared ray irradiation stimulates antioxidant activity in Vitis flexuosa Thunb. Berries. Kor. J. Med. Crop Sci. 15: 319.323. )

An aliquot of 0.5 ml of sample (1 mg/ml) was mixed with 0.1 ml of 10% aluminium chloride and 0.1 ml of potassium acetate (1 M). In this mixture, 4.3 ml of 80% methanol was added to make 5 ml volume. This mixture was vortexed and the absorbance was measured spectrophotometrically at 415 nm.

If my answer really helps you, please do vote for my answer.

With regards

Dr. Tresina

Dear Arjun

Simple method is, just take s sap from fresh leaves or soak dried sample in water for over night. Filter it and do phytochemical analysis for the confirmation of secondary metabolites. If your samples shows positive results for phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids definitely it will be having good pharmacological property. As my knowledge each and every herb on this earth has its own medicinal value but it depends on its dose.