ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants play an important role to cure many diseases and disorders and also play a preeminent role in traditional medicines and modern day. Since ancient period, rural and tribal communities have been using different parts of the plant as remedies against various diseases. They claim particular plant parts for specific diseases, but modern era does not accept without scientific justification. Keeping the above point in view an attempt has been made to study the comparative understanding of the bioactive compounds, antibacterial activity and antioxidant potentials of two wild edible rhizome bearing plants [Curcuma longa L. (CL) and Costus speciosus Koen. (CS)] of Odisha. The plants have long been used as traditional medicines in herbal remedies and healthcare preparations Antibacterial activity was against five 398pathogenic bacterial strains namely Salmonella typhii, Shigella flexneri, Vibrio cholerae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus mutans using Agar well diffusion assay. The experiment using ethanol extract showed the highest zone of inhibition against Salmonella typhii of CL whereas CS showed highest against Streptococcus mutans. The aqueous extract of CL was observed against Vibrio cholera whereas CS showed highest zone of inhibition against Streptococcus mutans. The ethnobotanical information was presented using standard methods. In vitro, antioxidant activity was assessed by reducing power and scavenging activity toward DPPH using spectrophotometric method. Ethanol extract of CL showed highest antioxidant scavenging activity with 77.37% reduction as compared to others. The rhizomes of CL and CS showed presence of diverse bioactive compounds. The correlation was made between the claims made by the tribal communities and the biological activities of the bioactive compounds present in the plant parts, which proves to be safe and effective for its uses as herbal medicine.
