Original Article IN VITRO TOTAL PHENOLICS, FLAVONOIDS CONTENTS, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITES OF VARIOUS SOLVENT EXTRACTS FROM THE MEDICINAL PLANT PHYSALIS MINIMA LINN VENKANNA BANOTHU 1 , UMA ADEPALLY 1* , JAYALAKSHMI LINGAM 2 1 Department of Bio-Technology, Centre for Bio-Technology, Institute of Science and Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad 500085, Telangana State, India, 2 Department of Microbiology, Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Telangana, India Email: vedavathi1@jntuh.ac.in Received: 15 Dec 2016 Revised and Accepted: 17 Jan 2017 ABSTRACT Objective: To estimate the in vitro total phenolics, flavonoids contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of various solvent extracts from the medicinal plant Physalis minima Linn. Methods: The crude bioactive were extracted from the dried powder of Physalis minima using methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform and hexane solvents. Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride colorimetric methods respectively. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2 ’ -azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were used to determine the in vitro antioxidant capacity. The antimicrobial assay was done through agar well diffusion; minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined using broth microdilution methods against the Gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). Results: TPC expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE) ranged from 60.27±1.73-151.25±2.50 mg GAE/g dry weight, and TFC expressed as quercetin equivalents (QE) ranged from 56.66±0.80-158.84±2.30 mg QE/g dry weight. Methanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activity followed by ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane extract and the IC50 values of methanol extract for scavenging DPPH and ABTS free radicals were 280.23±5.75-173.40±0.38µg/ml, respectively. All the extracts have shown potent antimicrobial activity for the zone of inhibition ranged from 9-35 mm; MICs and MBCs values ranged from 0.125-4.0 and 0.25-8.0 mg/ml, respectively towards tested pathogenic species. Conclusion: The comprehensive analysis of the present results demonstrated that Physalis minima possess high potential antioxidant properties which could be used as a viable source of natural antioxidants in treating infections caused by above-mentioned pathogens. Keywords: Free radical scavenging activity, In vitro assays, Organic solvents, Physalis minima, Agar well diffusion © 2016 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2017v9i3.16635 INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants are plants that have at least one of their parts (leaves, stem, barks or roots) used for therapeutic purposes [1]. The availability and relatively cheaper cost of medicinal plants make them more attractive as therapeutic agents when compared to modern medicine [2]. World plant biodiversity is the largest source of herbal medicine, and still, about 60-80% world population rely on plant-based medicines which are being used since the ancient ages as traditional health care system. India is endowed with a rich wealth of medicinal plants, which ranked our country in the list of top producers of herbal medicine. Many medicinal plants were found to possess antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal properties against wide spectra of organisms. Many active phytochemicals like flavonoids, terpenoids, vitamins and alkaloids, etc. were found to be responsible for these activities. With the advance in phytochemical techniques, several active principles of many medicinal plants have been isolated and introduced as valuable drugs in the modern system of medicine [3]. Antioxidants are compounds that block the oxidative procedures and thereby reduce the adverse effects of free radicals. Antioxidants also protect the plants from damage caused by abiotic stress. An imbalance between harmful free radicals and defensive antioxidants leads to oxidative stress which results in the development of chronic and degenerative diseases such as autoimmune disorders, cancer, arthritis, ageing neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders [4]. The most common free radicals are hydroxyl (OH - ), superoxide anion (O2 - ) and nitric monoxide (NO - ). Other molecules like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and peroxynitrite (ONOO - ) also generate free radicals through various chemical reactions [5]. The systemic screening of antimicrobial plant extracts represents a continuous effort to find new compounds with the potential to act against multi-resistant pathogenic bacteria and fungi [6]. The plant selected for the present study is Physalis minima Linn, the wild Gooseberry or Sunberry or Ground cherry, a pantrophical annual herb belonging to Solanaceae family is distributed throughout India. The fruit is edible, yellowish and encapsulated in the papery cover which is a good source of vitamin C and is considered to be a diuretic, purgative and used to relieve pain (analgesic action) and cure spleen disorder [7, 8]. The notable medicinal properties reported for the plant are antidiabetic, antiallergic, antileprotic, antiperiodic, anticancer, anti- spasmodic, antimalarial, immune modulators, alpha-glucosidase inhibitory and anti neoplasatic activities [9-11] due to which Physalis plants were used for centuries as medicinal herbs and recent studies have confirmed their therapeutic properties [12]. The plant is also used as tonic, laxative, applied in inflammations, enlargement of the spleen and as a helpful remedy in ulceration of the bladder. The leaves are crushed and applied over snake bite site to avoid the adverse effects of venom [7]. Thus, the present study involves estimation of in vitro total phenolics, flavonoids contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of various solvent extracts from the medicinal plant Physalis minima Linn. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN- 0975-1491 Vol 9, Issue 3, 2017