PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILING AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF LEUCAS LANATA BENTH. AN IMPORTANT ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANT OF WESTERN HIMALAYARachna Vermaa, Ashwani Tapwalb, Dinesh Kumara and Sunil PuriaAbstract Western Himalaya is an abode of medicinal plant wealth witnessed by herbal practitioners since time immemorial. Ethnomedicinal plant Leucas lanata have therapeutic potential in curing skin problems. Ethanolic leaves extract of plant possess antimicrobial potential against both standard and clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria. The preliminary phytochemical screening of ethanolic leaf extract for important phytochemicals confirmed presence of reducing sugars, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids and tannins in plant extract. GC-MS analysis of the plant showed presence of 6-octadecenoic acid (45.54%), cis-13-octadecenoic acid (42.76%) and l-(+)-ascorbic acid 2,6-dihexadecanoate (2.84%) as dominant phytochemicals. This is first report on GC-MS analysis of Leucas lanata plant. The phytochemical 6-octadecenoic acid is known for antimicrobial, anticancerous and antiaging property, cis-13-octadecenoic acid have therapeutic uses in medicine and surgery, while ascorbic acid 2,6-dihexadecanoate possess antioxidant, antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, antimutagenic and wound healing property. Plant also possess optimum antioxidant potential as observed by DPPH and FRAP assay. |