Ethnomedicine falls back to ancient times, where plants have been used as an exemplary source of medicine. The bioactive constituents in plants have helped in formulating new and effective medicines. Exacum pedunculatum belonging to Gentianaceae family was used as febrifuge to treat fever and intestinal disorders by the tribal people in South India. Current study on this species gives an insight to the scientific exploration of the plant for its medicinal properties. The study was carried out with phytochemical screening, isolation of flavonoids and characterization of bioactive compounds present in the ethyl alcohol extract of Exacum pedunculatum using Thin Layer Chromatography, Ultraviolet- Visible spectroscopy and Fourier Transmission Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). UV-Visible profile of the plant extract showed different peaks ranging from 200-800 nm with different absorption. The FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of phenols & alcohols, alkanes, carbonyls, carboxylic acids, nitro compounds and aromatic compounds in the extract. Antibacterial activity of the extract was carried out against reference strain bacteria: gram positive and gram negative. The results show that the extracts have good antibacterial activity.
