Abstract

• Cassia occidentalis L., belonging to family Fabaceae, is a medicinal plant used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. The present study was designed to evaluate the preliminary phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of leaves of Cassia occidentalis L. The specimen were collected from Banmaw Township, Kachin State. The morphological characters of this plant have been studied in detail and identified by the available literatures. The dried leaf powder of Cassia occidentalis L. was subjected to phytochemical analysis in order to find out the presence of phytochemical constituents. It contained many chemical groups included alkaloids, glycoside, reducing sugar, saponin, steroid, terpenoids, carbohydrate, tannin, phenolic compound, flavonoid, starch, protein and amino acid. For antimicrobial activity, the leaf powder of Cassia occidentalis L. was extracted with seven different solvents. The extracts were used to carryout antimicrobial screening in vitro on six different types of microorganisms by agar well diffusion method. It was found that the ethyl acetate extract showed most significant antimicrobial activity on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The phytochemical investigations and antimicrobial properties of leaves of Cassia occidentalis L. prove its importance as a valuable medicinal plant.