People have been exploring the nature since ancient times because nature is a complete store house of remedies to cure various disorders (Arora, 2013). Plants from nature are used in the form of drugs for basic health needs by 80% of the world population (Geetha & Geetha, 2014). According to World Health Organization (WHO), medicinal plants would be the best source to obtain variety of drugs. However, such plants should be investigated to better understand their properties, safety, and efficiency (Dhakal et al., 2011). In the present investigation, an attempt was made to study the phytochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of some under-utilized plants (Camellia kisii, Catharanthus roseus, Clerodendrum japonicum and Ficus religiosa) in Nepal. Methanolic extracts were used for the phytochemical analysis. The total phenolic and flavonoid content were estimated spectrophotometrically using Folin Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride colorimetric methods respectively. The highest and lowest amount of flavonoid was shown by Ficus religiosa (57.49±0.60mg of QE/g) and Camellia kisii (37.04±4.59 mg of QE/g) respectively. The highest and lowest phenolic content was shown by Catharanthus roseus (279.55±2.34 mg of GA/g) and Clerodendrum japonicum (46.86±9.92mg of GA/g) respectively. The antimicrobial activity was tested against Gram positive (S. aureus) and Gram negative (E. coli) bacteria and fungi (S. cerevisae and Pichia sp.). Extracts showed antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacteria while the extracts were ineffective against Gram negative bacteria. Antifungal activity was observed only from Camellia kisii. DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl) assay was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity. Ficus religiosa showed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 value of (13.87±0.53 µg/ml) in comparison to ascorbic acid. The preliminary test for compounds with anti-cancerous activity was performed using brine shrimp lethality assay at various concentration. All the extracts were highly toxic except Clerodendrum japonicum. Thus, selected plants showed presence of bioactive compounds which can be further identified and isolated for therapeutic activity.
