~ 378 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2019; SP1: 378-385 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2019; SP1: 378-385 Manish Kapoor Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India Jyoti Rani Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India orrespondence Manish Kapoor Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India (Special Issue- 1) 2 nd International Conference “Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture - Emerging Technologies” (February 14-16, 2019) Qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemicals by GC-MS and antioxidant activity of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don Manish Kapoor and Jyoti Rani Abstract The present study was framed to evaluate bioactive phytochemical, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the sequentially extracts prepared from leaves of Catharanthus roseus in five different solvents (Petroleum ether, Chloroform, ethanol, methanol and aqueous). Antioxidant potential of the extracts was evaluated by both enzymatic assays (Superoxide dismutase, Catalase, Glutathione peroxidase) and non-enzymatic assays (DPPH, ABTS). Lowest IC50 values were shown by methanolic extracts followed by ethanol and aqueous extracts. The antioxidant activity of enzymes viz. catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were found to be satisfactory. The antioxidant activity of the extracts exhibited positive correlation with the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extracts. The chemical composition of methanolic extract was also analysed by GC-MS. Seven phytochemical were predominantly identified in the methanolic extract by GCMS. Keywords: Phytoconstituents, TPC, TFC, DPPH, ABTS, DPPH and GCMS Introduction Men have used natural and herbal compounds for reliving various maladies since the beginning of human civilization and, for quite a while, plant, animal and mineral were the imperative sources of drugs. Medicinal plants possess a wide variety of secondary metabolites like alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols and tannins etc. which are used for therapeutic purposes. The development of organic chemistry inclined the use of synthetic drugs for pharmacological treatment. The reason behind this was the easy isolation and structural modification of natural compounds to produce more active, potential and safer drugs [19] . Over the most recent 30 years, over 25% of newly discovered and approved drugs are based on molecules of phyto-origin [21] . Free radicals and Reactive oxygen species are responsible for oxidative stress and induce various degenerative diseases [8] . Recently, interest is rising among the researchers to identify and isolate new antioxidants components from various medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits. Antioxidants are a wide array of compounds that neutralize free radicals, preventing damage to cells. Anti-oxidative compounds present in natural resources play a significant role in the prevention of the oxidative stress and also play a great role in limiting the formation of ROS [5] . Ethnomedicinal plants are important sources of secondary metabolites and have great role drugs discovery and the curing various ROS generated diseases. However, the potential use of large plants as a source of new drugs is still inadequately investigated. It is estimated that 2,500–5,000 plant species i.e. only a small percentage have yet studied or analysed for medicinal properties [21] . There is a large-scale international trade in the medicinal plants, one such important medicinal plant is Catharanthus roseus. Catharanthus roseus is a perennial or annual evergreen sub-shrub plant belongs to family Apocynaceae, that grows up to one meter in height and furthermore secretes white milky latex Catharanthus roseus plant native to Madagascar Island. It has been introduced as a popular decorative plant in tropical and subtropical countries [26] .