Evaluation of pharmacological potentials of Jatropha curcas Linn sap Euphobiaceae family

Objective: The study focused on qualitative screening of phytochemical constituents of Jatropha curcas crude sap and its effectiveness on some pathogenic bacteria namely, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The anti-oxidant potentiality of the crude sap was also evaluated.Methods: The sap of J. curcas was collected directly into sterile microfuge tubes after detaching the leaf stalks from the stem, the crude sap (sample) was taken to the laboratory and kept refrigerated at 40C. The crude sap was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening using standard procedures. The susceptibility test of the sap was carried out using well diffusion method. The anti-oxidant potentiality of the sap was also evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) assay.Results: Based on qualitative phytochemical screening, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, glycosides, and steroid were confirmed present while flavonoids, saponins, balsams were absent. The sap showed appreciable activities against the tested strains of bacteria. The highest zone of inhibition was shown on S. typhi (17 mm) at the crude sap and the lowest zone of inhibition was on P. aeruginosa and E. coli (11 mm) at 1:2 dilution. The antioxidant potential of the crude sap evaluated by UV-Visible spectrophotometer at 517 nm using inhibition of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) is less potent in comparison with Vitamin C, however, it showed increased in activity with decreased concentration.Conclusions: The J. curcas sap is very effective against all the organisms. Despite the low antioxidant property of the sap, J. curcas sap can be said to have a broad spectrum action. Based on this preliminary work the use of J. curcas to treat diseases caused by microorganisms still remains promising.