original article PHcog J. 34 Pharmacognosy Journal | July-august 2012 | Vol 4 | issue 30 *Address for correspondence: Professor Yamini Bhusan Tripathi, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. Fax – 0542-2317074 Phone: 09415694450, 0542-2366577, 307547 Email: yaminiok@yahoo.com DOI: 10.5530/pj.2012.30.7 Their role is two fold in the development of new drugs. They may become the base for the development of a medicine, a natural blue print for the development of new drugs or a phytomedicine to be used for the treatment of diseases. [1] Traditional medicine using plant extracts continues to provide health coverage for over 80% of the world’s population, especially in the developing world. [2] Jatropha species belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is used in traditional folklore medicine to cure various ailments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. [3] Jatropha curcas Linn is commonly called physic nut, purging nut or pig nut. Previous studies have reported that the plant exhibits bioactive activities as wound healing, [4] antidiarrhoeal, [5] antidiabetic, [6] antitumor effects, [7] immunomodulatory activity [8] and used Comparative in vitro Antimicrobial and Phytochemical Evaluation of Methanolic Extract of Root, Stem and Leaf of Jatropha curcas Linn Amit Kumar Sharma, 1 Mayank Gangwar, 2,8 Ragini Tilak, 3 Gopal Nath, 4 Akhoury Sudhir Kumar Sinha, 5 Yamini Bhusan Tripathi, 6 * Dharmendra Kumar 7 1 Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 2 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 3 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 4 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 5 Department of Chemical Engg, I.T. Banaras Hindu University, Vanarasi-221005. 6 Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 7 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 8 Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005 (Uttar Pradesh), India aBStract Background: Earlier researchers have reported antibacterial activity of different specifc parts, but none of the reports show the comparative microbial and phytochemical studies of root, stem and leaf extract. Objective: to compare and investigate antimicrobial, qualitative phytochemical studies, phenol, favonoid and TLC analysis of root, stem bark, leaf extracts of Jatropha curcas linn family euphorbiaceae. Methods: The dried plant powder was subjected to Soxhlet extraction with methanol. These solvent extracts were subjected to a preliminary phytochemical screening to detect the different chemical principles present viz., carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, steroids, glycosides, alkaloids, favonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds, fxed oils. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) was calculated by micro dilution method. thin layer chromatography was also performed using solvent system chloroform, benzene, hexane, and ethyl acetate for the analysis of a number of constituents in the plant extract. The content of the total phenolics in the extract was determined spectrometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and calculated as catechol equivalent. The content of total favonoids in the extract was determined and calculated as quercetin equivalent. Result: These extracts showed antibacterial, antifungal activities against gram-positive and gram- negative bacteria with varying magnitudes. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloid, saponin, tanins, terpenoids, steroids, glycosides, phenols and favonoids. Maximum phenolic content (38.8) was found in leaf extract and favonoid content (18.14) in latex of plant. Discussion: it is concluded that the antimicrobial activity showed by the plant was due to the presence of these phytochemicals. Further studies are highly needed for drug development. Key words: phytochemical, microdilution, TLC, folin-ciocalteu, quercetin, MBC, MFC. INTRODUCTION Historically, plants have provided a source of inspiration for novel drug compounds, as plant derived medicines have made large contributions to human health and well being.