Author(s):

Swati Goswami, Reena Jain and Harison Masih

Abstract: Grewia asitica Linn. is folk medicine as its all plant parts are used for health benefits and disease treatment. The leaves are thought to possess antimicrobial properties and hence are used for wound and cut treatment as well as instant relieve from irritation and painful rashes. Fruits, stem bark and root bark are widely applied for treatment of ailments like indigestion, asthma, spermatorrhoea, heart, blood and liver disorders, rheumatism and urinary tract problems. Grewia asitica Linn. leaves were dried and phytochemicals were extracted in acetone using soxhlet. The crude extract thus obtained was analyzed for its total phenolic and total flavonoid content. GALAE was then investigated for antifungal, antioxidant. The findings demonstrated strong antifungal activity of the Grewia asitica Linn. leaves acetone extract (GALAE) against highly pathogenic fungi including Aspergillus spp., Candida spp., Microsporum spp. and Trichophyton spp. which belongs to risk group two organisms. The antioxidant activity of GALAE as evaluated by DPPH method suggested very high content of free radical scavengers that were effectively protecting DNA damage caused by free radicals generated by Fenton’s reagent. The results of present study indicated that acetone extract of G. asiatica Linn. is having strong antifungal and antioxidant activity, which can be by virtue of the presence of phenolics, flavonoids and saponins. Hence it can be further explored for its possible application for treatment of fungal diseases like dermatophytosis, aspergillosis, candidiasis, and zygomycosis, as well as metabolic disorders where reactive oxygen species have major contributions in pathogenesis of diseases like diabetes, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases and cancer and reduce ageing effect

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