ESTIMATION OF TOTAL PHENOLIC AND FLAVANOID CONTENT IN ALCOHOLIC ROOT EXTRACT OF CLERODENDRON PANICULATUM BY SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD

India has a great wealth of various naturally occurring plant drugs which have great potential pharmacological activities .The root of Clerodendron paniculatum Linn is used in south India as a remedy for various dieases.The study comprising taxonomy of the species ,macro and microscopical characters ,phytochemical and uv analysis of the root powder .Besides chromatographic details of root extract helps in the identification of the plant constituents also contribute towards establishing pharmacopoeial standards. Phenolics are compounds among the most widely occurring secondary metabolites in the plant kingdom, acting mainly as phytoalexins, attractants for pollinators, and contributors to plant pigmentation, antioxidants. Polyphenols in plant extracts react with specific redox reagents (Folin-Ciocalteu reagent) to form a blue complex that can be quantified by visible-light spectrophotometry. Flavonoids are potent antioxidants and have aroused considerable interest recently because of their potential beneficial effects on human health in fighting diseases. The capacity of flavonoids to act as antioxidants depends upon their molecular structure. The position of hydroxyl groups and other features in the chemical structure of flavonoids are important for their antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities. Quercetin, the most abundant dietary flavonol,and is detected by Aluminium chloride method Key Words: Clerodendron paniculatum root, Aluminium chloride, Folin-Ciocalteu method.