Plants have been one of the important sources of medicines since the beginning of human civilization. Thespesia populnea is a large tree belonging to the family Malvaceae found in tropical regions and coastal forests of India. Various parts of this tree are found to possess useful medicinal properties. The leaves are applied locally in swollen joints for their anti inflammatory effects and also for skin diseases, hepatitis, jaundice, ulcers, wounds, scabies, urinary tract infections, diabetes, cholera, cough, asthma, guneaworm infections and also for various skin diseases including psoriasis. The barks and flowers possess astringent, hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity. A comparative antimicrobial activity of dried leaf extracts of T.populnea (L) were evaluated against two gram negative bacterial strains namely Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa and two clinical fungal pathogens namely Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger by agar cup method. Qualitative phytochemical screening was carried out using the crude leaf extracts in three different solvents such as water, alcohol and chloroform. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of glycosides, alkaloids, oils, saponins and flavanoids. The leaf extracts of T.populnea (L) was found to have high antibacterial activity than anti fungal activity. The results suggest that the leaves are a rich source of valuable primary and secondary metabolites exhibiting the antimicrobial activity.
