Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Bacopa monnieri L.

Medicinal plants have tremendous potential as therapeutic agents. Their uses have been described in ancient Indian manuscripts and are also part of several alternative therapies. Bacopa monnieri L. commonly known as brahmi has been used in Indian system of medicine as brain tonic. In the present work antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of brahmi was evaluated. The total phenolic content and total flavonoid content was found to be 1.59% ± 0.24 GAE and 0.4% ± 0.1, respectively. The plant extract showed significant antioxidant activity when tested through DPPH, FRAP and NOSA assays. The test plant extract showed potential antimicrobial activity against test gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The result showed that brahmi, apart from being a brain tonic, can be used as antioxidant and antimicrobial agent, which will be useful in alleviating several pathological conditions. (Vats S and Tiwari R. Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Bacopa monnieri L. Researcher 2014;6(9):20-23). (ISSN: 1553-9865). http://www.sciencepub.net/researcher. 4