Author(s): Atul Kumar Gangwar, Ashoke K. Ghosh, Vikas Saxena

Abstract: Thevetia neriifolia Juss. beloning to family Apocynaceae, an important medicinal plant was subjected to phytochemical screening, pharmacognosy and antibacterial investigations. Preliminary phytochemical screening of extracts revealed the presence of the bioactive compounds, such as alkaloids, anthroquinones, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, saponins, steroids and tannins. Pharmacognostical studies such as extractive values and fluorescence analysis brought out the standardized data in the quality control of this drug. Petroleum ether, Benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, & water extracts of drug showed significant antibacterial activity against the tested human pathogens. Petroleum ether and ethanol extracts exhibited maximum activity against the tested human pathogens, while extracts ethyl acetate & water extract showed minimum activity against some pathogens. The bioactive compounds responsible for these antibacterial activities could be isolated and identified to develop a new drug of pharmaceutical interest. Powdered drug analysis after treatment with 15different reagents emitted various colour radiations under UV and visible light which may provide a lead in identification of the drug in powder form. The study revealed specific identities for Thevetia neriifolia Juss. This may play a key role in identification of plant and can be useful in standardization of the herbal drugs.