Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb (Moraceae) is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh,
Bengal, Khasi Hills and Western Ghats. Objectives of the present study were to determine
antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and insecticidal efficacy of methanol
extract of A. lakoocha fruit pericarp. Antibacterial activity was tested against by Agar
well diffusion method. Antioxidant activity in terms of free radical scavenging ability
was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Anthelmintic efficacy was
determined using adult Indian earthworm. Insecticidal activity was tested against second
and third instar larvae of Aedes aegypti. The extract has shown dose dependent
antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and insecticidal activity. Among bacteria,
S. aureus has shown more susceptibility than K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. The
extract exhibited marked antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH free radical. The
IC50 value for extract was found to be 49.42μg/ml. The extract exhibited marked anthelmintic
activity by causing paralysis and death of worms and the effect was found
to be dose dependent. The extract concentration 100mg/ml has shown marked anthelmintic
effect than standard drug. In insecticidal study, the 2nd instar larvae were
shown to be more susceptible than 3rd instar larvae. Phytochemical analysis revealed
the presence of tannins and alkaloids. The presence of these phytoconstituents might
be responsible for the biological activities of extract tested. The extract could be used
to treat free radical damage, bacterial and helmintic infections and to control insect
vectors. Further studies on isolation of constituents and their bio-efficacies in vitro and
in vivo are under investigation.