Available online at www.pelagiaresearchlibrary.com Pelagia Research Library Asian Journal of Plant Science and Research, 2014, 4(2):31-41 ISSN : 2249-7412 CODEN (USA): AJPSKY 31 Pelagia Research Library Study of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Andrographis paniculata *Suparna Deepak, Asmita Pawar and Punam Shinde Department of Biotechnology, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT An antioxidant is a molecule capable of terminating the chain reactions that damage cells by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by thereby reducing stress responsible for many degenerative disorders. Andrographis paniculata Nees, a multipurpose tropical plant is believed to have many medicinal properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of the Hexane, DCM and Methanol extracts of Andrographis paniculata Nees. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using two assays viz. DPPH Radical Scavenging Assay and Total Reducing Capacity. In DPPH assay, the IC 50 values obtained for Hexane, DCM and Methanol extracts were 223.3μg/ml, 69.32μg/ml and 82.23μg/ml respectively. In the Total reducing capacity assay, activity increased in dose dependent manner for all the three plant extracts. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated using the Broth Dilution Method. The results obtained in the present study indicate that the leaves of Andrographis paniculata showed the best antibacterial activity against the gram positive organisms ie; S.aureus and S. pyogenes. The DCM extract showed the lowest MIC (100μg/ml) for both the gram positive organisms. All the 3 extracts showed antifungal activity against C. albicans with 200 μg/ml as the MIC. Keywords: kalmegh, phytoconstituents, HPTLC, DPPH and antibacterial. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION In Ayurvedic Medicine, there are numerous herbs which have been used historically for treating a large variety of ailments. Medicinal plants are the richest bio-resource of drugs of traditional systems of medicine, modern medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines, pharmaceutical intermediates and chemical entities for synthetic drugs. Andrographis paniculata Nees. is a plant that has been effectively used in traditional Asian medicines for centuries. The plant belongs to the family of Acanthaceae. The common name is Kalmegh or bhuminim. It is an annual, branched, erect- running ½ to 1 meter in height. Kalmegh is a plant of Indian Origin which is used since decade in Aurvedic Medicine purpose. Mainly it is available in Indian and Sri Lanka. Wild variety of the plant is available in West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka, and Utter Pradesh. It can be cultivated in whole India but the plain are more suitable for high production and Commercial cultivation. Kalmegh is an annual plant with three feet height. The leaves are 7.5 Cm Long and 2.5 Cm wide. The flowers of plant is of white colour .The seeds are small in size of yellowish brown in colour. The test is of plant is extra bitter that’s why it is called as “King of Bitters” [1]. A. paniculata has been reported as having antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, choleretic, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and adaptogenic effects [2].