A number of medicinal plants have been subjected to detailed chemical investigations and this has led to the isolation of pure bioactive molecules which have been pharmacologically evaluated. As a result, new drugs have been discovered, along with new applications. The present study was aimed at investigating the phytochemical constituents of Peperomia pellucida (P. Pellucida) and Marsilea quadrifolia (M. quadrifolia) to find out their use as medicinal drugs. The screening for phytoconstituents was performed using standard established methods for qualitative analysis. n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol extracts of both the plants were analyzed for the phytochemical compounds. Phytochemical analysis of crude extracts revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, phytosterols, steroids, terpenoids, triterpenoids, alkaloids, tropane alkaloids, isoquinoline alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, reducing sugars, lipids, and acids in P. pellucida and M. quadrifolia in varying concentrations. Carotenoids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, quinones, coumarins, coumarin glycosides, resins, condensed tannins, pseudo tannins, proteins and free Amino acids were found to be absent in P. pellucida and M. quadrifolia. Phlobatannins and fixed oils and fats were present in P.pellucida and absent in M. quadrifolia. The powdered drugs were examined for organoleptic and physical parameters. Sequential extraction was carried out in three different ratios for analyzing the experimental yield of the crude extracts. The yield of the crude extract was found to be higher in 1:8 compared to two other ratios. From this study it is suggested that both P. pellucida and M. quadrifolia have immense medicinal value as a potential drug for the cure of many health related problems as they contain a number of bioactive compounds.
