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Background: The plants Erythrophleum suaveolens (Guill. & Perr.) Brenan and Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC) Backer ex K. Heyne from the family Fabaceae have been used traditionally as emetic and purgative and as medicines for dysentry, insomnia, skin diseases, constipation.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to establish the pharmacognostic standards of Erythrophleum suaveolens and Peltophorum pterocarpum and to study the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the two plants.

Methods: Microscopic, phytochemical and physicochemical evaluations were performed on the leaf samples of the plants using standard procedures. Leaf extracts were evaluated for total phenolic content using Folin-ciocalteu reagent; in vitro antioxidant activity using DPPH assay, while antimicrobial activity was assessed using the agar diffusion method.

Results: Foliar micro-morphological studies on the plants revealed sharp generic variations in sizes and types of stomata, shapes of epidermal cells on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces, sizes and types of trichomes. The physico-chemical results obtained are within the standard limits. Methanol extract of P. pterocarpum had the highest phenolic content (62.0±1.23 mg GAE/g) and the highest antioxidant activity as revealed by its low IC50 value of 21.57±0.62 μg/mL. The antimicrobial study revealed that the extracts exhibited diverse activities against different microorganisms with zones of inhibition ranging from 2.0 to 15.0 mm. The MIC of the extracts ranged from 0 .78 to 3.125 mg/mL and MBC/MFC from 1.56 to 6.25 mg/mL for sensitive organisms at the tested concentrations.

Conclusion: The results provide the parameters for the standardization of the plants and also justify their ethnomedicinal uses.

Keywords: Peltophorum pterocarpum, Erythrophleum suaveolens, standardization, antioxidant, antimicrobial