Medicinal plants are rich source of antibacterial agents and curatives. Coleus forskohlii (Lamiaceae), a traditional medicinal plant of South India, has the source of bio-reductant and stabilizers. In the present study, In vitro antibacterial activity of crude extracts of root, shoot and leaves of C. forskohlii were screened using ethanol, methanol, chloroform, petroleum ether, hexane and hot water. The plant extracts were tested by disc diffusion method against seven pathogenic bacteria i.e. Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Gram-negative bacterial strains were more susceptible to the crude extracts as compared to gram-positive. The extracts of C. forskohlii exhibited maximum growth inhibition and remarkable effectiveness. These results indicate that the extracts of coleus root, shoot and leaves have a potential broad spectrum antibacterial activity.
