摘要：Antibacterial and antifungal properties of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Piper chaba (Choi) roots were studied by disc diffusion method and these activities were compared with primary standard drugs Kanamycin and Nystatin, respectively. The extracts were found to exhibit promising antibacterial and antifungal properties against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The extracts were also studied for their cytotoxic activities by brine shrimp lethality bioassay, where gallic acid was used as primary standard. It was observed that the petroleum ether extract was potent cytotoxic with the LC50 value of 0.95 µg/ml against Artemia salina (L). The essential oils of the petroleum ether extract of Piper chaba roots were analysed by GC/MS. It was observed that most of the compounds were sesquiterpenes, some were long chain fatty acids and some were monoterpenes and alkaloids. Seventeen compounds were identified from the GC/MS analysis.
