Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Bombax ceiba Flower

Bombax ceiba (Bombacaceae) is a well-known plant in the traditional systems of medicine. This plant species bears beautiful red coloured flowers from February to April. To utilize this flower as a potential source for value-added products, a qualitative phytochemical screening along with antioxidant and antimicrobial studies have been performed. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenolics, tannins, amino acids and alkaloids in the methanolic extract of the flower. The antioxidant activity (AA) was evaluated using DPPH method. Some of the semi-purified extracts showed >90% AA. The MIC value for the extract was found to be between 3.125-12.500 µg/mL.