Alkaloids, saponins, steroid, terpenoid, flavonoids, phenolic distribution in 14 Malaysian favourite ulam and fruit belonging to different families were assessed and compared. The plants investigated wereparkia speciosa(petai),solanum torvum(terung pipit),pithecellobium bubalinum(kerdas),moringa oleifera(kacang kelor),dryobalanops oblongifolia(keladan),cosmos caudatus(ulam raja),mentha arvensis(pudina),ocimumsp. (selasih),cymbopogon nardus(serai wangi),eugenia polyantha(serai kayu),Barringtonia scortechinii, (Putat),musasp. (pisang),talinum paniculatum(akar som) andphyllanthus acidus(cermai).Moringa oleiferaleaf anddryobalanops oblongifoliafruit were found contain positive reactions of alkaloids. All the samples studied also show high content of saponin except in bark and seed ofparkia speciosaand stem ofphyllanthus acidus. Meanwhile, results of the phytochemical screening on saponins, steroids, terpenoids, phenolic and flavonoids showed thatcosmos caudatus,ocimum sp., mentha arvensis, barringtonia scortechiniiandmoringa oleiferawere the active compounds present in the leaves of the plant.

Local herbs have many potential that may be active with antimicrobial activity. A screening was conducted with 11 species of herbs collected in UiTM Pahang Forest Reserve.Epipremnumsp.,Zingibersp.Tetracera indica, Tectaria crenata, Piper stylosum, Homalomena propinque, Goniothalamus sp., Elephantopus scaber, Mapania patiolale, Melastomasp.,Stemona tuberosa, Phullagathis rotundifolia, Thotea grandifoliaandSmilaxsp. were extracted with methanol to obtain their crude. The agar diffusion method using blank disc of 6 mm diameter were loaded with 1000 µg/mL of methanol crude and applied to the inoculate plate was used to assess the antimicrobial activity against two gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilisandStaphylococcus aeureus) and one gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). The results evaluated as the diameter of the inhibition zone of microbial growth, showed that all the extracts were active against gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria. The extract ofStemona tuberosewas found to be the most active against theE. coliandS. aeureuswhilePiper stylosumactive againstB. subtilis.

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