eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia 0973-1245 2016-05-06 7 2 857 877 9392 article M. Prabhakaran 1 S.M. Sundarapandian 2 S. Elumalai 1 PG and Research Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Presidency College, Chennai - 600 005 (India). Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry - 605 014 (India). The present investigation is intended to evaluate the phytochemical characters such as determination of pharmacognostic and screening of bioactive principles and antibacterial activity of an important medicinal plant, Odina wodier Roxb., Various parts of the plant Odina wodier, Roxb., family, Anacardiaceae, is traditionally used in Indian medicine. Phytochemical screening was carried out to assess the qualitative chemical composition of crude extracts using commonly employed precipitation and coloration reaction to identify the major natural chemical groups such as alkaloids, saponins, steroids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, reducing sugars and amino acids. The microbes selected for the present study were Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis. They were obtained from research laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Thiagarajar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.In comparison with three parts of plant (Odina wodier) studied, (leaf, bark and root), root is better in terms of antibacterial action compared to bark and leaf. The present study concludes that the extracts of the root of Odina wodier, Roxb., has great potential as antimicrobial compound against pathogenic microorganisms studied and that it can be used in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria. This part of the plant can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads for the development of new pharmaceutical drugs that address hitherto unmet therapeutic needs. https://www.biotech-asia.org/vol7no2/phytochemical-studies-and-antibacterial-activity-of-the-leaf-bark-and-root-powders-of-odina-wodier-roxb/ Phytochemical screening; antibacterial activity; Odina wodier